ABSOLUTE PALEOINTENSITY FROM HAWAIIAN LAVAS YOUNGER THAN 35 KA

Paleointensity studies have been conducted in air and in argon atmosph ere on nine lava flows with radiocarbon ages distributed between 3.3 a nd 28.2 ka from the Mauna Loa volcano in the big island of Hawaii. Det erminations of paleointensity obtained at eight sites depict the same overall pattern as the previous results for the same period in Hawaii, although the overall average field intensity appears to be lower. Sin ce the present results were determined at higher temperatures than in the previous studies, this discrepancy raises questions regarding the selection of low versus high-temperature segments that are usually mad e for absolute paleointensity. The virtual dipole moments are similar to those displayed by the worldwide data set obtained from dated lava flows. When averaged within finite time intervals, the worldwide value s match nicely the variations of the Sint-200 synthetic record of rela tive paleointensity and confirm the overall decrease of the dipole fie ld intensity during most of this period. The convergence between the e xisting records at Hawaii and the rest of the world does not favour th e presence of persistent strong non-dipole components beneath Hawaii f or this period. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.