MCADAM: A Continuous Paleomagnetic Dipole Moment Model for at Least 3.7 Billion Years

Understanding the evolution of Earth's magnetic field can provide insights into core processes and can constrain plate tectonics and atmospheric shielding. The absolute paleointensity database PINT provides a curated repository of site mean (i.e., cooling unit), estimates of the strength of the magnetic field. We present a minor update to the PINT database to version 8.1.1 by adding 295 records from 34 studies. The PINT database is used to define a continuous model of the dipole field, using an approach combining non-parametric and Monte Carlo (MC) resampling termed Monte Carlo Axial Dipole Average Model (MCADAM). Three dipole field strength models spanning 50 ka to 3.7-4.2 Ga (MCADAM.1a-c) are presented, reflecting three tiers of increasingly more stringent data selection. The MCADAM models allow for the estimation of the magnetic standoff distance, constraining the shielding of Earth's atmosphere against solar wind erosion provided by the geodynamo.