Signals from the ancient geodynamo: A paleomagnetic field test on the Jack Hills metaconglomerate

The oldest history of Earth's magnetic field cannot be directly read from extant bulk rocks because of subsequent metamorphism at temperatures close to or exceeding the Curie temperature of common magnetic minerals. The Jack Hills metasediments of Western Australia, which have seen lower peak metamorphic temperatures, contain zircons as old as ∼4.4 billion-yr-old. To assess whether these sediments can retain an ancient signal of the geodynamo, we present a paleomagnetic conglomerate test on a cobble-bearing Jack Hills unit. Thermal demagnetization reveals a distinct magnetic component with high unblocking temperatures between ∼550 and 580 °C that passes the conglomerate test, indicating magnetization prior to deposition of the conglomerate. This result, together with rock magnetic data, indicates that the high unblocking temperature component is carried by magnetite which records magnetization in an ambient field, and the simplest explanation is that a dynamo was present. Existing geochronological data imply that the clasts could contain mixtures of minerals extending to ages only slightly older than the maximum depositional age at 3.05 billion-yr-ago. However, the positive conglomerate test reported here indicates that the Jack Hills metasediments have the potential to record Paleorchean to Hadean magnetic fields, on a clast or sub-clast mineral scale.

► Paleomagnetism of the Jack Hills (W. Australia) has heretofore been unknown. ► Metasediment cobbles preserve a high unblocking temperature magnetization. ► A field test suggests magnetization, and a dynamo, prior to ca. 3 Ga. ► Older Paleoarchean and Hadean fields may be preserved on a mineral scale.