Shallow bias in Mediterranean paleomagnetic directions caused by inclination error

A variety of paleomagnetic data from the Mediterranean region show a strong bias toward shallow inclinations. This pattern of shallow inclinations has been interpreted to be the result of (1) major northward terrane displacement, (2) large nondipole components in the Earthʹs magnetic field, and (3) systematic inclination flattening of the paleomagnetic directions. Here, we use the observation that, in addition to the well-known variation of magnetic inclination with latitude, the N–S elongation of directional dispersion also varies, being most elongate at the equator and nearly symmetric at the poles. Assuming that inclination shallowing follows the relationship long known from experiment, we invert the inclinations using a range of “flattening factors” to find the elongation/inclination pair consistent with a statistical model for the paleosecular variation. We apply the so-called “elongation/inclination” method to the extensive paleomagnetic data sets from the Miocene sediments of the Calatayud basin (Spain) and the island of Crete (Greece). After correction, the Spanish data are in good agreement with the expected middle Miocene latitude of the region. The data from Crete suggest that it occupied a position in the late Miocene about 275 km north of the predicted location. This is in agreement with the geological and geodynamical models for the east Mediterranean region, which indicate that slab rollback processes in combination with Anatolian push generated southward migration of Crete. The 7.5 million year average displacement rate of Crete estimated by the E/I method is 37 mm/yr to the south, which closely coincides with present-day rates based on global positioning system (GPS) and model measurements. We also show that inappropriate tilt corrections lead to a shallow inclination bias as well, explaining that observed in studies of lava flows of the region. We conclude that the east Mediterranean inclination anomaly is caused by sedimentary inclination error and not by a persistent octupolar contribution to the geomagnetic field, or northward transport.