Geomagnetic secular variation through the last 3500 years as recorded by Lake Aslikul sediments from eastern Europe (Russia)

Abstract

A paleomagnetic record of geomagnetic secular variation during the last 3500 yr has been obtained from three lake sediment cores from lake Aslikul in the western Pre‐Ural region (Russia). Pollen data provide a time‐scale and relative paleotemperatures which can be compared with radiocarbon dated paleotemperature data for this region. Magnetic susceptibility measurements have been used for correlation between cores and reconstruction of composite core data. The paleosecular variations which have been recorded in the lake Aslikul sediments are consistent with results from West‐European lakes. Westward shifting inclination features are observed between the more western European and the Pre‐Ural regions which have apparent age differences between 200 and 600 years resulting in drift rates which are of the order of 0.1 degrees/year.