Geomagnetic excursions and climate change

Rampino argues that although Kent (1982) demonstrated that the intensity of natural remanent magnetism (NRM) in deep-sea sediments is sensitive to changes in sediment type, and hence is not an accurate indicator of the true strength of the geomagnetic field, it does not offer an alternative explanation for the proposed connections between excursions, climate, and orbital parameters. Kent replies by illustrating some of the problems associated with geomagnetic excursions by considering the record of proposed excursions in a single critical core. The large departure from an axial dipole field direction seen in a part of the sample is probably due to a distorted record; the drawing and storage of the sample, which is described, could easily have led to disturbance and distortion of the record.