  Using a mean-field dynamo model with a spherically symmetric helical
turbulence parameter alpha which is dynamically quenched and disturbed by
additional noise, the basic features of geomagnetic polarity reversals are
shown to be generic consequences of the dynamo action in the vicinity of
exceptional points of the spectrum. This simple paradigmatic model yields long
periods of constant polarity which are interrupted by self-accelerating field
decays leading to asymmetric polarity reversals. It shows the recently
discovered bimodal field distribution, and it gives a natural explanation of
the correlation between polarity persistence time and field strength. In
addition, we find typical features of coherence resonance in the dependence of
the persistence time on the noise.
