Abstract

In environmental magnetism, rock and mineral

magnetic techniques are used to investigate the
formation, transportation, deposition, and
postdepositional alterations of magnetic minerals
under the influences of a wide range of
environmental processes. All materials respond in
some way to an applied magnetic field, and ironbearing minerals are sensitive to a range of
environmental processes, which makes magnetic
measurements extremely useful for detecting
signals associated with environmental processes.
Environmental magnetism has grown considerably
since the mid 1970s and now contributes to
research in the geosciences and in branches of
physics, chemistry, and biology and environmental
science, including research on climate change,
pollution, iron biomineralization, and depositional
and diagenetic processes in sediments to name a
few applications. Magnetic parameters are used to
routinely scan sediments, but interpretation is often
difficult and requires understanding of the underlying
physics and chemistry. Thorough examination of
magnetic properties and of the environmental
processes that give rise to the measured magnetic
signal is needed to avoid ambiguities, complexities,
and limitations to interpretations. In this review, we
evaluate environmental magnetic parameters based
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on theory and empirical results. We describe how

ambiguities can be resolved by use of combined
techniques and demonstrate the power of
environmental magnetism in enabling quantitative
environmental interpretations. We also review
recent developments that demonstrate the mutual
benefit of environmental magnetism from close
collaborations with biology, chemistry, and physics.
Finally, we discuss directions in which
environmental magnetism is likely to develop in the
future.