Palaeomagnetic study of the carbonates that ubiquitously cap glacial deposits may constrain the latitudinal extent of Neoproterozoic glaciations and the duration of the greenhouse recovery. We present the first palaeomagnetic data on the Neoproterozoic cap carbonates covering the Amazon craton, which are folded along the Paraguay Belt. Samples collected at deformed beds along the Paraguay Belt present a single‐polarity secondary magnetization acquired by the end of the Brasiliano orogeny (540–520 Ma). In the cratonic area, a dual‐polarity component was isolated in dolostones at the base of the sequence. The presence of a stratabound reversal stratigraphy along with high unblocking temperatures strongly suggest that this magnetization is primary. This result implies a low palaeolatitude (22+6/−5°) for the Amazon block just after deposition of Puga diamictites. In addition, the presence of multiple reversals across the first 20 m of the cap carbonate sequence suggests that their sedimentation must have spanned hundreds of thousands of years at least.

The contribution of the Deccan Traps (west-central India) volcanism in the Cretaceous-Paleogene (KPg) crisis is still a matter of debate. Recent U-Pb dating of zircons interbedded within the Deccan lava flows indicate that the main eruptive phase (>1.1 × 10 6 km 3 of basalts) initiated ~250 k.y. before and ended ~500 k.y. after the KPg boundary. However, the global geochemical effects of Deccan volcanism in the marine sedimentary record are still poorly resolved. Here we investigate the mercury (Hg) content of the Bidart (France) section, where an interval of low magnetic susceptibility (MS) located just below the KPg boundary was hypothesized to result from paleoenvironmental perturbations linked to the paroxysmal Deccan phase 2. Results show Hg concentrations >2 orders of magnitude higher from ~80 cm below to ~50 cm above the KPg boundary (maximum 46.6 ppb) and coincident with the low MS interval. Increase in Hg contents shows no correlation with clay or total organic carbon contents, suggesting that the Hg anomalies resulted from higher input of atmospheric Hg species into the marine realm, rather than organic matter scavenging and/or increased runoff. The Hg anomalies correlate with high shell fragmentation and dissolution effects in planktic foraminifera, suggesting correlative changes in marine biodiversity. This discovery represents an unprecedented piece of evidence of the nature and importance of the Deccan-related environmental changes at the onset of the KPg mass extinction.

Environmental magnetism of speleothems is still in its early stage of development. Here we report on our investigation of the environmental and paleomagnetic information that has been recorded in speleothems, and what are the factors that control its preservation and reliability. To address these issues, we used a multidisciplinary approach, including rock magnetism, petrography, scanning electron microscopy, stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions, and major and trace element concentrations. We applied this to a set of samples from different stages of speleothem evolution: present-day dripwater (glass plates), a weathered stalactite, a fresh stalagmite, cave sediments, and terra rossa soils. These samples come from the Penico and Excentricas caves, located in two distinct aquifers of the Algarve region, South Portugal. Our results show that the main magnetic carriers of the speleothems under study are primary (detrital) and consist of maghemite (and magnetite?). Similarities in coercivity and temperature dependence of the studied set of samples suggest that iron oxides are inherited from the terra rossa soils that cap the cave and were transported to the speleothems by dripwater. Hence, they represent a regional environmental signature. Interestingly, a stable and probably detrital remanent magnetization could be isolated in the fresh stalagmite, whereas the weathered stalactite yielded chaotic magnetic directions and very low remanent intensities. We propose that these low intensities can be the result from (i) different remanence acquisition mechanisms between stalagmite and stalactite and/or (ii) iron dissolution by fungal activity. We also suggest that magnetic properties and color and the content in detrital elements in the fresh speleothem inform about environmental processes acting on the interface of rock (soil)-atmosphere, while oxygen isotope composition and alkaline-earth element concentrations inform about calcite-water interaction processes. These results provide a better understanding of how environmental information is recorded in speleothems and what the factors are that control the reliability of the paleomagnetic and paleo-environmental signal.