Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Geomagnetic Jerks: Rapid Core Field Variations and Core Dynamics

  • Published:
Space Science Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The secular variation of the core field is generally characterized by smooth variations, sometimes interrupted by abrupt changes, named geomagnetic jerks. The origin of these events, observed and investigated for over three decades, is still not fully understood. Many fundamental features of geomagnetic jerks have been the subject of debate, including their origin internal or external to the Earth, their occurrence dates, their duration and their global or regional character. Specific tools have been developed to detect them in geomagnetic field or secular variation time series. Recently, their investigation has been advanced by the availability of a decade of high-quality satellite measurements. Moreover, advances in the modelling of the core field and its variations have brought new perspectives on the fluid motion at the top of the core, and opened new avenues in our search for the origin of geomagnetic jerks. Correlations have been proposed between geomagnetic jerks and some other geophysical observables, indicating the substantial interest in this topic in our scientific community. This paper summarizes the recent advances in our understanding and interpretation of geomagnetic jerks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • M. Alexandrescu, D. Gibert, G. Hulot, J.L.L. Mouël, G. Saracco, Detection of geomagnetic jerks using wavelet analysis. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 12557–12572 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Alexandrescu, D. Gibert, G. Hulot, J.L.L. Mouël, G. Saracco, Worldwide wavelet analysis of geomagnetic jerks. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 21975–21994 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Alexandrescu, V. Courtillot, J.L. Le Mouël, High-resolution secular variation of the geomagnetic field in western Europe over the last 4 centuries: Comparison and integration of historical data from Paris and London. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 20245–20258 (1997)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • L.R. Alldredge, A discussion of impulses and jerks in the geomagnetic field. J. Geophys. Res. 89, 4403–4412 (1984)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • G.E. Backus, Application of mantle filter theory to the magnetic jerk of 1969. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 74, 713–746 (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  • R.J. Banks, Geomagnetic variations and the conductivity of the upper mantle. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 17, 457–487 (1969)

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Barraclough, Observations of the Earth’s magnetic field in Edinburgh, from 1670 to the present day. Trans. R. Soc. Edinb. Earth Sci. 85, 239–252 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Beggan, K. Whaler, Core flow modelling assumptions. Earth Planet. Inter. 167, 217–222 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • E. Bellanger, J.L.L. Mouël, M. Mandea, S. Labrosse, Chandler wobble and geomagnetic jerks. Phys. Earth Planet. Int. 124, 95–103 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • E. Bellanger, E.M. Blanter, J.L. Le Mouël, M. Mandea, M.G. Shnirman, On the geometry of the external geomagnetic irregular variations. J. Geophys. Res. (Space Phys.) 107, 20–21 (2002). doi:10.1029/2001JA900112

    Google Scholar 

  • E.R. Benton, K.A. Whaler, Rapid diffusion of the poloidal geomagnetic field through the weakly conducting mantle: A perturbation solution. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 75, 77–100 (1983)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • J. Bloxham, A. Jackson, Time-dependent mapping of the magnetic field at the core-mantle boundary. J. Geophys. Res. 97, 19537–19563 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J. Bloxham, S. Zatman, M. Dumberry, The origin of geomagnetic jerks. Nature 420(6911), 65–68 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • L. Cafarella, A. DeSantis, A. Meloni, Secular variation in Italy from historical geomagnetic field measurements. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 73, 206–221 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • V. Cannelli, D. Melini, P.D. Michelis, A. Piersanti, F. Florindo, Core-mantle boundary deformations and J2 variations resulting from the 2004 Sumatra earthquake. Geophys. J. Int. (2007). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2007.03443.x

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Cazenave, R.S. Nerem, Redistributing Earth’s mass. Science 297 (2002). doi:10.1126/science.1074593

  • A. Chambodut, M. Mandea, Evidence for geomagnetic jerks in comprehensive models. Earth Planets Space 57, 139–149 (2005)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Chambodut, I. Panet, M. Mandea, M. Diament, M. Holschneider, O. Jamet, Wavelet frames: An alternative to spherical harmonic representation of potential fields. Geophys. J. Int. 163, 875–899 (2005). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2005.02754.x

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Chambodut, C. Eymin, M. Mandea, Geomagnetic jerks from the Earth’s surface to the top of the core. Earth Planets Space 59, 675–684 (2007)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • B.F. Chao, A.Y. Au, J.P. Boy, C.M. Cox, Time-variable gravity signal of an anomalous redistribution of water mass in the extratropic pacific during 1998–2002. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 4, 1096 (2003). doi:10.1029/2003GC000589

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • C.G. Constable, R.L. Parker, Smoothing, splines and smoothing splines: Their application in geomagnetism. J. Comput. Phys. 78, 493–508 (1988)

    Article  MATH  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • V. Courtillot, J. Ducruix, J.L. Le Mouël, Sur une accélération récente de la variationséculaire du champ magnétique terrestre. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. D 287, 1095–1098 (1978)

    Google Scholar 

  • C.M. Cox, B.F. Chao, Detection of a large-scale mass redistribution in the terrestrial system since 1998. Science 297, 437–450 (2002). doi:10.1126/science.1074593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F.A. Dahlen, A correction to the excitation of the Chandler wobble by earthquakes. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 32, 203–217 (1973)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • P. De Michelis, R. Tozzi, A local intermittency measure (lim) approach to the detection of geomagnetic jerks. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 235, 261–272 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • P. De Michelis, L. Cafarella, A. Meloni, Worldwide character of the 1991 geomagnetic jerk. Geophys. Res. Lett. 25, 377 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Dumberry, Comment on “Could the Mw=9.3 Sumatra earthquake trigger a geomagnetic jerk?”. Eos Trans. AGU 86 (2005)

  • D. Enescu, B.D. Enescu, Possible cause-effect relationships between Vrancea (Romania) earthquakes and some global geophysical phenomena. Nat. Hazards 19, 233–245 (1999). doi:10.1023/A:1008095708316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F. Florindo, P. De Michelis, A. Piersanti, E. Boschi, Could the mw=9.3 Sumatra earthquake trigger a geomagnetic jerk? EOS Trans. AGU 86, 123 (2005)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Fournier, C. Eymin, T. Alboussière, Towards variational geomagnetic data assimilation: Insights from a one-dimensional, nonlinear and sparsely observed MHD system. Nonlinear Process. Geophys. 14, 1–18 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • E. Friis-Christensen, H. Lühr, G. Hulot, R. Haagmans, M. Purucker, Geomagnetic research from space. EOS Trans. AGU 90(25), 213–214 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • F. Fürst, J. Wilms, R.E. Rothschild, K. Pottschmidt, D.M. Smith, R. Lingenfelter, Temporal variations of strength and location of the South Atlantic anomaly as measured by RXTE. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 281, 125–133 (2009). doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.02.004

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • D. Gibert, J.L. Le Mouël, Inversion of polar motion data: Chandler wobble, phase jumps, and geomagnetic jerks. J. Geophys. Res. 113 (2008). doi:10.1029/2008JB005700

  • D. Gibert, M. Holschneider, J.L. Le Mouël, Wavelet analysis of the Chandler wobble. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 27069–27089 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • N. Gillet, M.A. Pais, D. Jault, Ensemble inversion of time-dependent core flow models. Geophys. J. Int. 10 (2009)

  • V.P. Golovkov, T.I. Svereva, A.O. Simourian, Common features and differences between jerks of 1947, 1958 and 1969. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 49, 81–96 (1989)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • R.S. Gross, The influence of earthquakes on the Chandler wobble during 1977–1983. J. Geophys. Res. 85, 161–177 (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  • R.S. Gross, The excitation of the Chandler wobble. Geophys. Res. Lett. 27, 2329–2332 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • D. Gubbins, P.H. Roberts, Magnetohydrodynamics of the Earth’s core, in Geomagnetism, vol. 2, ed. by J.A. Jacobs (Academic Press, San Diego, 1987), p. 1

    Google Scholar 

  • E. Halley, On the cause of the change in the variation of the magnetic needle; with an hypothesis of the structure of the internal parts of the Earth. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 17, 470–478 (1692)

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Hinderer, C. Gire, H. Legros, J.L. Le Mouël, Geomagnetic secular variation, core motions and implications for the Earth’s wobble. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 49, 121–132 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • R. Holme, Large-scale flow in the core, in Treatise on Geophysics, vol. 8 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Holme, O. de Viron, Geomagnetic jerks and a high-resolution length-of-day profile for core studies. Geophys J. Int. 160, 435–439 (2005). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02510.x

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • R. Holme, O. de Viron, Evidence for a geomagnetic jerk after 2003 in LOD, in Proceedings of the First International Swarm Science Meeting, vol. WPP-261 (ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, 2006)

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Holme, K.A. Whaler, Steady core flow in an azimuthally drifting reference frame. Geophys. J. Int. 145, 560–569 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A. Jackson, J. Bloxham, D. Gubbins, Time-dependent flow at the core surface and conservation of angular momentum in the coupled core-mantle system, in Dynamics of the Earth’s Deep Interior and Earth Rotation, ed. by J.L. Le Mouël, D.E. Smylie, T. Herring (IUGG, AGU, 1993), pp. 97–107

  • D. Jault, J.L. Le Mouël, Does secular variation involve motions in the deep core? Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 82, 185–193 (1994)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • D. Jault, C. Gire, J.L. Le Mouël, Westward drift, core motions and exchanges of angular momentum between core and mantle. Nature 333(6171), 353–356 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Korte, M. Mandea, Magnetic poles and dipole tilt variation over the past decades to millennia. Earth Planets Space 60, 937–948 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Korte, M. Mandea, J. Matzka, A historical declination curve for Munich from different data sources. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 174, 161–172 (2009)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A.V. Kuvshinov, N. Olsen, A global model of mantle conductivity derived from 5 years of Champ, Ørsted, and SAC-C magnetic data. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, 18301 (2006). doi:10.1029/2006GL027083

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • A.V. Kuvshinov, H. Utada, D. Avdeev, T. Koyama, 3-D modelling and analysis of Dst C-responses in the North Pacific ocean region, revisited. Geophys. J. Int. 60(2), 505–526 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • B.N. Lahiri, A.T. Price, Electromagnetic induction in non-uniform conductors, and the determination of the conductivity of the Earth from terrestrial magnetic variations. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A 237, 509–540 (1939)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Le Huy, M. Alexandrescu, G. Hulot, J.L. Le Mouël, On the characteristics of successive geomagnetic jerks. Earth Planets Space 50, 723–732 (1998)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.L. Le Mouël, T.R. Madden, J. Ducruix, V. Courtillot, Decade fluctuations in geomagnetic westward drift and Earth’s geomagnetic field. Nature 290, 763–765 (1981)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • V. Lesur, I. Wardinski, M. Rother, M. Mandea, GRIMM—The GFZ Reference Internal Magnetic Model based on vector satellite and observatory data. Geophys. J. Int. 173 (2008). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2008.03724.x

  • V. Lesur, I. Wardinski, S. Asari, B. Minchev, M. Mandea, Modelling the Earth’s core magnetic field under flow constraints. Earth Planets Space 62(6), 503–516 (2010)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • S. Macmillan, A geomagnetic jerk for the early 1990s. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 137, 189–192 (1996)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • S.R.C. Malin, E. Bullard, The direction of the Earth’s magnetic field at London, 1570–1975. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. 299, 357–423 (1981)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • S.R.C. Malin, B.M. Hodder, Was the 1970 geomagnetic jerk of internal or external origin? Nature 726–728 (1982)

  • S.R.C. Malin, B.M. Hodder, D.R. Barraclough, Geomagnetic secular variation: a jerk in 1970, in 75th Anniversary Volume of Ebro Observatory, ed. by J.R. Cardus (Ebro Observatory, Tarragona, 1983), pp. 239–256

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Mandea, E. Dormy, Asymmetric behaviour of magnetic dip poles. Earth Planets Space 55, 153–157 (2003)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Mandea, S. Macmillan, International Geomagnetic Reference Field—the eighth generation. Earth Planets Space 52, 1119–1124 (2000)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Mandea, N. Olsen, A new approach to directly determine the secular variation from magnetic satellite observations. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L15306 (2006). doi:10.1029/2006GL026616

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Mandea, N. Olsen, Geomagnetic and archeomagnetic jerks: Where do we stand? EOS Trans. AGU 90 (2009)

  • M. Mandea Alexandrescu, D. Gibert, J.L. Le Mouël, G. Hulot, G. Saracco, An estimate of average lower mantle conductivity by wavelet analysis of geomagnetic jerks. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 17735–17745 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • M. Mandea, E. Bellanger, J.L.L. Mouël, A geomagnetic jerk for the end of the 20th century? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 183, 369–373 (2000)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • K.L. McDonald, Penetration of the geomagnetic secular field through a mantle with variable conductivity. J. Geophys. Res. 62, 117–141 (1957)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • H. Nagao, T. Higuchi, T. Iyemori, T. Araki, Automatic detection of geomagnetic jerks by applying a statistical time series model to geomagnetic monthly means, in Progress in Discovery Science, Final Report of the Japanese Discovery Science Project, ed. by S. Arikawa, A.S. Springer. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, vol. 2281 (2001), pp. 360–371

  • H. Nagao, T. Iyemori, T. Higuchi, T. Araki, Lower mantle conductivity anomalies estimated from geomagnetic jerks. J. Geophys. Res. 108 (2003)

  • L. Newitt, M. Mandea, L. McKee, J.J. Orgeval, Recent acceleration of the North Magnetic Pole linked to magnetic jerks. Eos Trans. AGU 83(35), 381–389 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • L. Newitt, A. Chulliat, J.J. Orgeval, Location of the north magnetic pole in April 2007. Earth Planets Space 61, 703–710 (2009)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • N. Olsen, The electrical conductivity of the mantle beneath Europe derived from C-responses from 3 to 720 h. Geophys. J. Int. 133, 298–308 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • N. Olsen, Long-period (30 days–1 year) electromagnetic sounding and the electrical conductivity of the lower mantle beneath Europe. Geophys. J. Int. 138, 179–187 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • N. Olsen, M. Mandea, Will the magnetic north pole wind up in Siberia? (2007)

  • N. Olsen, M. Mandea, Rapidly changing flows in the Earth’s core. Nat. Geosci. 1, 390–394 (2008). doi:10.1038/ngeo203

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • N. Olsen, H. Lühr, T. Sabaka, M. Mandea, M. Rother, L. Toffner-Clausen, S. Choi, CHAOS—A model of the Earth’s magnetic field derived from CHAMP, Ørsted, and SAC-C magnetic satellite data. Geophys. J. Int. 166(1), 67–75 (2006). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.02959.x

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • N. Olsen, M. Mandea, T.J. Sabak, L. Tøffner-Clausen, Chaos-2—A geomagnetic field model derived from one decade of continuous satellite data. Geophys. J. Int. 179, 1477–1487 (2009). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04386.x

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • K. Pinheiro, A. Jackson, Can a 1-D mantle electrical conductivity model generate magnetic jerk differential time delays? Geophys. J. Int. 173, 781–792 (2008)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • P.H. Roberts, S. Scott, On the analysis of secular variation. 1. A hydromagnetic constraint: Theory. J. Geomagn. Geoelectr. 17, 137–151 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  • T.J. Sabaka, N. Olsen, M.E. Purucker, Extending comprehensive models of the Earth’s magnetic field with Ørsted and CHAMP data. Geophys. J. Int. 159, 521–547 (2004). doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02421.x

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • T. Shirai, T. Fukushima, Z. Malkin, Detection of phase disturbances of free core nutation of the Earth and their concurrence with geomagnetic jerks. Earth Planets Space 57, 151–155 (2005)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  • L. Silva, Ecoulements a la surface du noyau, secousses geomagnetiques et predictions a court terme du champ magnetique terrestre. PhD IPGP, France, 2010

  • A. Soare, G. Cucu, M. Mandea-Alexandrescu, Historical geomagnetic measurements in Romania. Ann. Geofis. 41, 539–554 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  • D.N. Stewart, K.A. Whaler, Geomagnetic disturbance fields: An analysis of observatory monthly means. Geophys. J. Int. 108, 215–223 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • G. Verbanac, M. Korte, M. Mandea, Four decades of European geomagnetic secular variation and acceleration. Ann. Geophys. 52, 487–503 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  • R. Waddington, D. Gubbins, N. Barber, Geomagnetic-field analysis 5. Determining steady core-surface flows directly from geomagnetic observations. Geophys. J. Int. 122, 326–350 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • J.M. Wahr, The Earth’s rotation. Ann. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 16, 231–249 (1988)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • I. Wardinski, R. Holme, A time-dependent model of the Earth’s magnetic field and its secular variation for the period 1980 to 2000. J. Geophys. Res. B 111, 12101 (2006). doi:10-10292006004401

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • I. Wardinski, R. Holme, S. Asari, M. Mandea, The 2003 geomagnetic jerk and its relation to the core surface flows. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 267, 468–481 (2008). doi:10.1016/j.epsl2007.12.008

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Mioara Mandea

    Present address: Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Diderot, Case 7011, 5 rue Thomas Mann, 75205, Paris, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Mioara Mandea

  2. University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK

    Richard Holme

  3. CFC, Department of Physics, University of Coimbra, 3004-516, Coimbra, Portugal

    Alexandra Pais

  4. National Observatory, Rua General Jose Cristino, 77, Rio de Janeiro, 20921-400, Brazil

    Katia Pinheiro

  5. Institut für Geophysik, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092, Zürich, Switzerland

    Andrew Jackson

  6. Faculty of Science, Geophysical Institute “Andrija Mohorovicic”, Horvatovac bb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Giuliana Verbanac

Authors
  1. Mioara Mandea
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard Holme
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alexandra Pais
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Katia Pinheiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Andrew Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Giuliana Verbanac
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mioara Mandea.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mandea, M., Holme, R., Pais, A. et al. Geomagnetic Jerks: Rapid Core Field Variations and Core Dynamics. Space Sci Rev 155, 147–175 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-010-9663-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-010-9663-x

Keywords