palaeomagnetism

British  

/ ˌpælɪəʊˈmæɡnɪˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. the study of the fossil magnetism in rocks, used to determine the past configurations of the continents and to investigate the past shape and magnitude of the earth's magnetic field

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Other Word Forms

• palaeomagnetic adjective

Example Sentences

Andy Herries, from LaTrobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues evaluated remains found at the Drimolen Cave Complex using three different scientific dating techniques: electron spin resonance, palaeomagnetism and uranium-lead dating.

From BBC

Dennell and a team used a field of science known as “palaeomagnetism” to date the sediment layers.

From The Guardian

The deposits were dated using a method called palaeomagnetism, which uses well-documented flips in Earth’s magnetic field to date rock established between these events.

From Nature

Macedonio Melloni, the observatory's first director, did pioneering work on the magnetic properties of lava that was crucial to later studies of palaeomagnetism — the history of Earth's magnetic field as recorded in rocks.

From Nature