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Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) require iron and organic carbon for biomineralization, which can be supplied by dust inputs that stimulate primary productivity in iron‐limited oceans. However, MTB activity and its relationship to Asian dust inputs and primary productivity are not well known in the North Pacific Ocean. Here, we present an eight‐million‐year record of magnetofossil abundance, Asian dust flux, and primary productivity from North Pacific sediments (Ocean Drilling Program Hole 885A). Our results demonstrate that Asian dust delivered iron to stimulate primary productivity and then boost MTB biomineralization in the late Miocene. Since the late Pliocene, dust inputs and primary productivity appear to have been decoupled, with MTB activity controlled mainly by primary productivity rather than dust inputs. Equant magnetofossil abundances co‐vary with eolian flux, and may provide here a proxy for dust inputs. This work provides perspectives on relationship between MTB activity, dust inputs, and primary productivity on million‐year timescales. Plain Language Summary: Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) biomineralize chains of characteristic magnetically single domain magnetite (or greigite) crystals in their cells and can thrive in deep‐sea ecosystems and absorb iron for biomineralization. Magnetic particles that are preserved in sediments after MTB death are known as magnetofossils. Eolian dust supplied from continents is a major iron source in pelagic environments. Hence, magnetofossils can be important indicators of the impacts of dust‐supplied iron on deep‐sea ecosystems. A better understanding of the relationship between MTB activity, dust inputs, and primary productivity is needed for reliable magnetofossil interpretation. However, this relationship is not well determined in the North Pacific Ocean. By integrating rock magnetic, transmission electron microscope, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy observations, we present an eight‐million‐year record of magnetofossil variations, Asian eolian inputs, and primary productivity from the North Pacific Ocean. Our results demonstrate that Asian dust inputs appear to have promoted MTB activity by stimulating surface primary productivity in the late Miocene. Since the late Pliocene, MTB activity was controlled mainly by primary productivity, with decoupling of the relationship between dust inputs and primary productivity. Moreover, equant magnetofossil abundances vary with eolian flux and provide a proxy for dust inputs in these marine sediments. Key Points: Asian dust inputs promoted magnetotactic bacterial activity by providing iron to stimulate primary productivity in late MioceneMagnetofossil production was controlled mainly by primary productivity changes rather than dust inputs since late PlioceneEquant magnetofossil abundances co‐vary with dust inputs and may be regarded here as a dust indicator [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

North Pacific Ocean sediments are important archives of geomagnetic field and paleoenvironmental evolutions, yet late Quaternary sedimentary sequences in the North Pacific Ocean are less explored because of generally low sedimentation rates and the challenge of dating sediments deposited below the calcite compensation depth. Core NP02 sediments from the North Pacific Ocean contain three visible tephra layers, which are identified as the To‐Of, Spfa‐1, and Kt‐3 tephra, respectively. An age model for core NP02 is established based on tephra correlation and one radiocarbon date, which gives a mean sedimentation rate of ∼11.6 cm/kyr. Magnetic analyses suggest the dominance of two remanence carriers; detrital vortex state and biogenic single domain magnetite. Variable depth offsets between the relative paleointensity (RPI) signals carried by the two remanence carriers adds a negligible age error (<0.5 kyr) to the core NP02 RPI record. Pronounced RPI amplitude variations are observed, and the Rockall and Laschamp excursions are identified in the core NP02 RPI record based on the age model. The fidelity of the core NP02 RPI record is further verified by comparison with other RPI stacks and records, and we demonstrate that the RPI variations can assist in chronology refinement. Plain Language Summary: The North Pacific Ocean is too deep to preserve materials effectively for the oxygen isotope chronology, and sediments deposit slowly in this region. Therefore, dating is a big problem for late Quaternary sedimentary cores. In this study, core NP02 sediments from the North Pacific Ocean are studied. The To‐Of, Spfa‐1, and Kt‐3 tephra layers are identified in core NP02 sediments based on the geochemical features. An age model for this core is reconstructed with the aid of tephra ages and one radiocarbon date. Magnetic analyses suggest that both small biogenic and relatively large detrital magnetite record geomagnetic information, and the two groups of magnetite deposit at about the same time. Based on the age model, core NP02 RPI record preserves the Rockall and Laschamp excursions, and the RPI pattern is consistent with other RPI stacks and records, which verifies core NP02 RPI fidelity. Therefore, we demonstrate that RPI variations is a promising dating tool for North Pacific Ocean sediments. Key Points: We use an age model based on tephra correlation and one radiocarbon date to assess the fidelity of relative paleointensity variationsDetrital vortex state and biogenic single domain magnetite are the dominant remanence carriers, and they introduced <0.5 kyr age errorAssessment of component‐specific magnetic properties should be considered to ensure the reliability of relative paleointensity variations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continental shelves serve as a bridge between the continent and ocean and sediments in this region are sensitive to land-sea interaction, sea-level variation and local subsidence. In this study, we present a comprehensive magnetic study of the longest sediment core (CSDP-1, 300.1 m) recovered from the South Yellow Sea. The major magnetic minerals in the studied sediments are magnetite, hematite and greigite. Greigite records a chemical remanent magnetization, which can be removed effectively by thermal demagnetization. The magnetostratigraphy defined in this study contains the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary (M/B, 781 ka) at ∼73.68 m, which is consistent with results from adjacent cores. The base of the Quaternary (∼2.6 Ma) in the Yellow Sea is recovered for the first time at a depth of 227.16 m. The basal age of the core is estimated to be ∼3.50 Ma. It indicates that the first transgression of the Yellow Sea occurred no later than ∼1.7 Ma. Succeeding large amplitude regressions occurred in some cold periods such as during MIS 20, MIS 18, and MIS 10. Our results provide the first chronology that brackets the entire Quaternary and we reconstruct the sedimentary evolution of the Yellow Sea with robust age constraints, which provides an important framework for further paleoenvironmental and tectonic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The magnetic properties of magnetite (Fe3O4) are strongly dependent on the internal stress related to stress-controlled regions and to closure domains associated with defects. The contribution of internal stress to the low-temperature magnetic properties of magnetite was tested using annealed and unannealed multi-domain (MD) magnetites. During low-temperature cooling, a room temperature-induced saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) increased abruptly at the Verwey transition (T v ∼122K). In particular, the absolute intensity jump (δ VJ, defined as the jump in SIRM at T v upon cooling) resulted from the high-coercivity fraction of MD grains. We observe that annealing significantly reduces internal stress and thus decreases the average microcoercivity. Comparison of the alternating field (AF) demagnetization spectra of δ VJ both for annealed and unannealed magnetites directly links δ VJ to the internal stress. It is likely that removal of the closure domain associated with stress-controlled regions was dominant when the peak AF was less than the average micromagnetic coercivity 〈h c〉, resulting in a net increase of δ VJ with increasing AF. However, when the AF exceeded the 〈h c〉 threshold, δ VJ decreased because the stress-controlled regions were demagnetized. Such observations could therefore be useful for estimating the 〈h c〉 of MD magnetite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to isolate magnetic signals carried by single-domain (SD) ferrimagnetic (FM) minerals from multi-domain (MD) FM minerals, we developed a few parameters using partial anhysteretic remanent magnetization (pARM). Because MD fraction contains only soft (easy to be demagnetized) coercivity spectrum, pARM(>20 mT) was sensitive in eliminating MD contributions. Ratio of pARM(5 mT, 10 mT)/pARM(0, 5 mT) is useful in quantifying a relative abundance of mass ratio between SD and MD fractions. These new proxies can quickly characterize the details of grain size distribution of magnetic minerals in paleoclimatic and paleomagnetic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetosomes of magnetotactic bacteria are of great interest in understanding biomineralization and possible links between organisms and geomagnetic field. Fossil magnetosomes are ubiquitous in marine and lake sediments and may significantly contribute to magnetic signals. In this review, we firstly introduce some characteristics of magneto- tactic bacteria, followed by considering recent progress in magnetosome formation, magnetic measurements, and identification of bacterial magnetites in bulk sediments as well as their paleoenvironmental implications. Finally, we briefly discuss potential future breakthroughs in magnetosome studies and its applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new method to distinguish between interglacial deposits and pedogenically-overprinted glacial loess based on the concentration variations of coarse-grained aeolian (magnetically pseudo-single domain and multidomain) magnetite. We apply the method to a sequence from the upper part of the loess unit L2 (marine isotope stage MIS 6) to the sub-loess unit S1L2 (MIS 5d) at the YuanBo (YB) section in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The method is based on the differences in low temperature properties between the coarse-grained (multidomain and pseudo-single domain) detrital magnetite and the pedogenic magnetic particles including superparamagnetic (SP) particles and relatively larger (>SP) maghemite particles. The former is characterized by a crystallographic Verwey transition around 120 K. In contrast, the magnetization of the latter continuously decreases in intensity with increasing temperatures. The method involves two steps: (1) calculating the first-derivative of the low temperature thermal demagnetization of the saturated isothermal remanent magnetization acquired at 20 K (LT-SIRM), which enhances the behaviour related to the Verwey transition, and (2) fitting a third-order polynomial background to the data between both 50–70 and 150–300 K, and then subtracting this background from the total derivative curves. The area under the background-corrected derivative curves represents the absolute intensity drop associated with the Verwey transition (Δ JTV ). This is caused by the aeolian coarse-grained magnetite, which is very sensitive to the changes in the intensity of the winter monsoon, and in turn related to the changes in palaeoclimate. The results show that the sharp drop of Δ JTV at 39.44 m corresponds to the climatic boundary from L2 (MIS 6) to S1S3 (MIS 5e), and not at 39.8 m as thought previously. Thus, the palaeosol deposits just below this boundary are in fact highly altered L2 materials instead of S1S3 accumulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Magnetosomes produced by magnetotactic bacteria are of great interest for understanding bacterial biomineralization along with sedimentary magnetism and environmental magnetism. One of the most intriguing species, Magnetobacterium bavaricum can synthesize hundreds of bullet-shaped magnetite magnetosomes per cell, which contribute significantly to magnetic properties of sediments. However, the biomineralization mechanism and magnetic properties of such magnetosomes remain unknown. In this paper, we have conducted a comprehensive study of the crystallography and magnetic properties of bullet-shaped magnetosomes formed by uncultivated giant rod magnetotactic bacteria (referred to as MYR-1), recently discovered in Lake Miyun (Beijing, China). Transmission electron microscopy observations reveal that each MYR-1 cell contains hundreds of bullet-shaped magnetite magnetosomes, which are arranged into 3 - 5 braid-like bundles of chains. The formation of the bullet-shaped magnetosomes can be divided into two stages: initial isotropic growth (up to ∼ 20nm) followed by elongation along the [100] direction, which is unusual compared with the expected [111] magnetic easy axis. Although the [100] orientation is the hard axis of the face-centered cubic magnetite, the shape anisotropy of bullet-shaped magnetosomes and intra-bundle magnetostatic interactions confine the magnetization direction of the chain along the long axis of the cell/bundle. Due to each bundle of magnetosome chains effectively behaving as an elongated single domain particle, the MYR-1 cells show high coercivity, weak intra-bundle magnetostatic interaction, and high δ-ratio. These results provide new insights into the biomineralization process and magnetic properties of bullet-shaped magnetite magnetosomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Paleomagnetic secular variation (PSV) provides information on the mechanisms of the geodynamo and can also be used for stratigraphic correlation on a regional scale. In this study, we constructed PSV curves of relative rapidly deposited Holocene marine sequence from East China Sea. Results show that the dominant magnetic carriers are pseudo-single domain (PSD) to multidomain (MD) magnetites. Paleomagnetic directions are preserved by coarse-grained magnetite, even affected by post-depositional diagenetic alteration. The PSV record of core MD06-3040 exhibits six major inclination peaks and five declination swings during the Holocene. The periodicities for inclination are about 2000 and 550 years, and for declination are about 1400 and 500 years. The PSV of MD06-3040 is comparable to archeomagnetic and historic results for the last 2500 years and to PSV results from lake sediments in southern China and Japan during the Holocene. A PSV stack of East Asia is constructed by sedimentary and archeological PSV results, which can be used as an important reference curve for a large region, and the PSV correlation between sites can be applied for relative dating of East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Understanding the magnetic properties of magnetite crystals (Fe3O4) produced by magnetotactic bacteria (MTBs) is of fundamental interest in fields of geosciences, biomineralization, fine particle magnetism, and planetary sciences. The database of bulk magnetic measurements on MTBs is, however, still too sparse to allow for generalizations due to difficulties in obtaining bacteria cells in sufficient quantities from natural environments, and the fact that only a few cultivable strains are available. Here we report the first series of magnetic measurements on two air-dried samples containing solely MTBs (wild-type cocci and Magnetobacterium bavaricum), which were directly isolated from carbonaceous lake sediments. Systematic rock magnetic studies show that: 1) the magnetosomes in cells are dominated by single-domain (SD) magnetite; 2) the samples have delta ratios δ FC / δ ZFC higher than 2; 3) the measured low-temperature remanence cycling curves as well as the first-order-reversal-curve (FORC) diagrams are significantly different to those measured on synthetic SD-magnetite samples; and 4) the Verwey transition temperature (T v, ∼100 K) of MTB cells is distinctly lower than that from stoichiometric magnetite (T v, 120–125 K). Our results provide new insights on the magnetic properties of bacterial magnetite and advance the use of magnetic proxies for decoding the paleomagnetic signals of sediments containing bacterial magnetite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]