paleomagnetism

[pey-lee-oh-mag-ni-tiz-uhm, pal-ee-]

noun

1. Geology.,  magnetic polarization acquired by the minerals in a rock at the time the rock was deposited or solidified.

paleomagnetism

1. The fixed orientation of a rock's magnetic minerals as originally aligned at the time of the rock's formation. Paleomagnetism is usually the result of thermoremanent magnetization (magnetization that occurs in igneous rocks as they cool). Examination of the paleomagnetism of the Earth's ocean floors revolutionized the field of geology by providing evidence for the existence and movement of tectonic plates.

2. See Note at magnetic reversal

3. The scientific study of such magnetic remanence.

Other Word Forms

• paleomagnetic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of paleomagnetism¹

First recorded in 1850–55; paleo- + magnetism

Example Sentences

"As a global community, we're starting to send more sample-return missions to other bodies, so it's good to know that as long as we're careful to ensure spacecraft fields are not too high -- and it doesn't have to be zero, necessarily -- we can still do paleomagnetism studies along with other research," said Tikoo, who also holds a courtesy appointment in Earth and planetary sciences.

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Paleomagnetism is a branch of geophysics that uses remanent magnetization in rocks from the time of their formation to reconstruct the direction and/or strength of the geomagnetic field.

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"This study proves that we can do extraterrestrial paleomagnetism with mission-returned samples," Tikoo said.

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"I don't think anybody doubts the ability to do Earth paleomagnetism and I'm happy that we can do it for space, too."

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"Paleomagnetism is a very powerful tool for understanding core processes since we cannot go to the core of the planets, and also to learn about the past behavior of the core," said study co-author Ji-In Jung, a PhD student in geophysics.

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