Salient Changes of Earth's Magnetic Field Toward the End of Cretaceous Normal Superchron (CNS).

Changes in Earth's magnetic field during the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (CNS) spanning ∼121 Ma to ∼84 Ma hold important clues about the geodynamo evolution. Canonical models predict a persistently strong geomagnetic field with low variability during CNS, which, however, has not been observed in the available absolute paleointensity data and seafloor marine magnetic anomaly (MMA) records. The lack of relative paleointensity (RPI) data across CNS further impedes tests of model predictions. Here, we present a ∼9‐Myr (∼94–∼85 Ma) RPI record from a Turonian to Santonian hemipelagic succession from IODP Site U1512 offshore southern Australia. Detailed paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses demonstrate that the ratio of natural remanent magnetization (NRM) demagnetized at 20 mT over magnetic susceptibility (MS), that is, NRM20mT/MS, as a reliable proxy for the RPI of the Upper Cretaceous succession. The new RPI record shows marked changes in both intensity and variability at ∼90.8 Ma. Also, the 6 Myr‐long (∼94–∼88 Ma), near‐continuous, ∼1.2 kyr‐resolution RPI record exhibits a strong positive correlation between field intensity and variability. Assuming this correlation holds for the entire CNS, an extrapolated RPI curve for the entire CNS is obtained by integrating the positive correlation with field variability estimates from the MMA data. The extrapolated RPI curve shows a strong and highly variable field in the middle CNS but a weak and stable field at its beginning and ending. These features imply a much more dynamic geodynamo than previously thought, and provide crucial benchmarks for unraveling the geodynamo evolution during CNS. Plain Language Summary: Cretaceous Normal Superchron (CNS, ∼121 to ∼84 million years ago) marks a nearly 40 million years interval of almost constant normal geomagnetic polarity. Changes in Earth's magnetic field during CNS hold important clues about the evolution of the geodynamo, by which the geomagnetic field was generated. However, whether the geomagnetic field was persistently strong and stable during CNS has been controversial based on estimates from snapshot recordings of igneous rocks and marine magnetic anomaly data. Here, we report a high‐resolution near continuous relative paleointensity (RPI) record of the ∼88–94 million years old interval from a hemipelagic sedimentary succession at IODP Site U1512. The new RPI record documents salient changes in both intensity and variability of the geomagnetic field at ∼90.8 million years ago and a positive correlation between these two parameters toward the ending of CNS. These features imply that the geomagnetic field was strong and highly variable in the middle CNS, but weak and stable at its beginning and ending. These findings indicate much more dynamic geodynamo behavior during the CNS than previously thought, and thus provide important benchmarks for "ground truthing" model simulations to unravel the geodynamo evolution during CNS. Key Points: We report a ∼9 Myr high‐resolution RPI record for the late stage (∼94–∼85 Ma) of CNS from IODP Site U1512 coresThe new RPI record shows a marked change in intensity and variability at ∼90.8 Ma and a positive correlation between these two parametersSalient changes in geomagnetic field's strength and variability imply a much more dynamic geodynamo than previously thought during CNS [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]