Astrophysics (Index)About

paleomagnetism

(ancient magnetic fields and their characteristics)

The term paleomagnetism refers to very old magnetic fields, and their properties and the study of them. The term is used for the study of magnetism in the Earth's crust (in rock that can hold some magnetism) to divine the Earth's past magnetic fields, a study which shows the Earth's magnetic fields shifted, even to the point of swapping poles. That, in turn, helped demonstrate continental drift.

The term is also used in the study of the magnetism found in meteorites to determine some of the history of the solar magnetic field, and the study of lunar rocks, and magnetometer readings of the Moon and other planets and moons, to determine (with models) some of the history of these worlds' magnetic fields.


(Earth,magnetism,geology)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleomagnetism
https://www.geo.mtu.edu/KeweenawGeoheritage/IRKeweenawRift/Paleomagnetism.html
https://geo.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Oceanography/Oceanography_101_(Miracosta)/03%3A_Structure_of_the_Earth/3.19%3A_Paleomagnetism_and_the_Study_of_the_Seafloor
https://www.geo.arizona.edu/Paleomag/
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1976AREPS...4..147S/abstract

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