Statistical study of magnetic field reversals in geodynamo models and paleomagnetic data The most striking features in the temporal evolution of the Earths dipolar magnetic field are polarity reversals and excursions. Several hundred polarity switches have been documented for the last two hundred million years of geomagnetic history and occur at irregular apparently stochastic intervals. Self consistent numerical dynamo models successfully reproduced several features of the geomagnetic field including dipole field reversals. The causes for reversals and excursions however remain poorly understood. In this work we aim to characterize the statistical properties of reversals...