Paleointensity by the thelliers technique : a new reliability criterion

Abstract EN

One of the weaknesses of the Thelliers* technique for paleointensity determina- tion is the lack of definitive criteria by which the reliability of the results can be assessed.

Linearity of the NRM-TRM curves, though a necessary condition of ideal behavior, has been experimentally shown to be insufficient.

We propose an approach in which the entire palcofield vector (intensity and direction) is determined by the Thelliers* method.

The reliabil- ity of the intensity estimate is then judged on the basis of internal consistency within and bet- ween specimens from the same sample, and on concordence between experimentally deter- mined directions and the directions of stable NRM.

Testing of the method on real and synthe- tic data indicate its viability.