| Mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) is the major source of marine magnetic anomalies which are the result of the earth's magnetic reversals recorded sequentially in progressively older oceanic crust, as embodied in the theory of sea-floor spreading. Titanomagnetite, the primary magnetic minerals in MORB, undergoes gradual low-temperature alteration to titanomaghemite after initial formation, presenting the paradoxical situation that apparently the original magnetic record stays well-preserved while carriers of this record undergo fundamental mineralogical transformations. An integrated electron microscopic, rock magnetic and paleomagnetic study of MORB has been carried out with the aim to understand the effects of low-temperaure alteration on magnetic properties of MORB.; A component of this study documents the oxidation state of titanomagnetite in variably altered young (< 1 Ma) basalt. Titanomaghemites in discolored rims are, in a general sense, oxidized to a higher degree than those in the relatively unaltered gray interior. The titanomaghemite within the discolored rims appears to have oxidized relatively quickly. However, the alteration front of the discolored rims does not generally coincide with a pronounced jump in oxidation state, suggesting oxidation state of the Fe-Ti oxides and visible alteration in the discolored rims are not directly correlated.; The natural remanent magnetization (NRM) of MORB shows comparatively higher intensity in early Tertiary and Cretaceous samples than in 10--30 Ma old samples. No compositional, petrological, rock-magnetic or paleomagnetic patterns are observed to account for the NRM variation trend. Geomagnetic field intensity is the only effect which can not be directly tested on the same samples, but shows a similar pattern as the measured NRM intensities. It is therefore concluded that the geomagnetic field strength was, on-average, significantly greater during the Cretaceous than during the Oligocene and Miocene.; I proposed that the variability of oxidation state within a grain changes as a function of age: rapid oxidation giving rise to pronounced non-uniform oxidation within a grain during the first 10 to 20 m.y., whereupon oxidation of titanomagnetite gradually slows down due to equilibration with surrounding fluids. Meanwhile, oxidation gradients decrease gradually within a grain via diffusion. The change of oxidation state within a grain can greatly affect its internal stress, which in turn influences the magnetic stability. This stability, observed as coercivity or mean-destructive fields during alternating-field demagnetization, shows otherwise unexplained variations. These variations can only be explained by variability of oxidation degree within a given grain. |
