In Search of the Missing Dipole: Unravelling the Paradoxes of Earth's Magnetic Field Strengths

Explore the complexities of Earth's magnetic field in this 55-minute lecture from the Earth Sciences department at the University of Liverpool. Delve into the Geocentric Axial Dipole (GAD) hypothesis and its limitations when applied to paleomagnetic records. Examine the discrepancies between paleodirection and paleointensity data over the last 10 million years. Learn about innovative statistical methods, including the Bias Corrected Estimation of Paleointensity (BiCEP) and Thermal Resolution of Unblocking Temperatures (TROUT), designed to improve the accuracy of paleointensity analyses. Discover new findings from high-quality paleointensity data collected in Hawaii, Israel, and Antarctica, which challenge the notion of a purely dipolar magnetic field over the last 1.5 million years. Gain insights into the ever-changing nature of Earth's magnetic field and its implications for our understanding of geodynamo processes.