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Geophysics

Same old magnetism

Nature volume 444, pages 43–44 (2006)Cite this article

Latitudes at which ancient salt deposits occur show that Earth's magnetic field has always aligned along its rotation axis. One possible implication is that ancient global glaciations were not caused by a realignment of this axis.

In a paper of admirable scope and thoroughness that appears on page 51 of this issue1, David Evans analyses the magnetization locked into rocks associated with salts from all over the globe that have been deposited over the past 2,500 million years. Taking as a working model the 'geocentric axial dipole' — the idea that, averaged over thousands of years, the magnetic field at Earth's surface resembles the field of a magnet, or dipole, at Earth's centre2,3 — these magnetizations and this model provide clues to the past evolution and interplay of Earth's magnetism, climate and geography.

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Figure 1: Ancient evaporite.

R. H. Rainbird

References

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  1. an emeritus scientist at the Department of Natural Resources, Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological Survey of Canada, PO Box 6000, Sidney, V8L 4B2, British Columbia, Canada

    Edward Irving

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Irving, E. Same old magnetism. Nature 444, 43–44 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/444043a

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