Low-field variation of magnetic susceptibility as a tool for magnetic mineralogy of rocks

Low-field variation of magnetic susceptibility was investigated on a collection of several hundreds specimens of various minerals and rocks using the KLY-4S Kappabridge. The measurement is fully automated, being executed in 21 distinct fields ranging from 2 to 450 A/m (in one frequency of 875 Hz). The measurement is rapid, 7 min per specimen, so that large collections of specimens can be investigated. The results can be processed both graphically and mathematically. For the latter processing, parameters of two kinds were introduced. One characterizes the susceptibility change with field, the other one characterizes the field in which the susceptibility no longer obeys the Rayleigh law and starts becoming more complex.The results were evaluated statistically. Remarkable differences were revealed between individual minerals and between some rock types. For example, the field variation of susceptibility of pyrrhotite is in general an order of magnitude larger than that of titanomagnetite. The susceptibility increase in pyrrhotite starts at the field an order of magnitude lower than that of titanomagnetite. Low-field variation of susceptibility then appears as an interesting phenomeon that helps in the identification of magnetic minerals and in some cases also in assessing the compositional variation of them.     

云南高黎贡山典型板岩地震波各向异性研究

板岩作为一种浅变质岩在我国有着广泛的分布,对其地震波速度的研究将有助于对这类过渡性岩石的有效区分,对于浅层地壳的各向异性研究也具有重要意义.本文对采自云南丙中洛地区的板岩样品进行了地震波速度的室内实验研究,其中部分实验是在加拿大Dalhousie High Pressure Laboratory完成.实验获得了板岩在围压10~600 MPa条件下、不同构造主方向（X,Y和Z）上的地震波速度,在围压600 MPa时,X、Y、Z三个方向的P波速度分别为6.58、6.46、5.91 km/s,平均速度为6.30 km/s,S波平均速度约为3.62 km/s,VP/VS=1.74;并初步分析了板岩地震波速度、横波分裂及其波速各向异性随着围压的变化规律,发现所测量的板岩在较低围压（150 MPa时）微裂隙基本闭合,黑云母、阳起石等片状矿物的定向排列成为其地震波各向异性的主导诱因,此时（围压为600 MPa）VP、VS的各向异性分别稳定在13%、16%左右.本研究所获取的基础实验数据及所探讨的板岩地震波性质将为确定地壳上部显微裂隙的优选定向、浅层地壳的各向异性分析、地球物理模型条件约束等提供基础.     

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility variations in a single icelandic columnar basalt

Measurements of the anosotropy of magnetic susceptibility in 34 specimens drilled from a single Icelandic columnar basalt segment reveal a preferred, long-axis alignment of magnetic minerals normal to the long axis of the column and well grouped. Maximum elongation of these minerals occurs in regions which crystallized late, as independently indicated by relative samarium concentrations. We propose that the variations in magnetic mineral elongation are controlled by variations in thermal stress in the cooling column, before complete solidification. An upper limit of 75–100 bars is suggested for these stresses.     

Field-induced anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in rocks

Summary An induced anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility results from the domain alignment which is produced by treating stationary specimens in a strong alternating field. Appreciable domain re-orientation occurs in fields as low as 50 oersteds and the effect must therefore normally be an important part of the process of alternating field demagnetization. Induced anisotropy has been measured in a number of igneous rocks with a range of palaeomagnetic stabilities and in magnetite powders of controlled grain sizes, dispersed in plaster or kaolin specimens which were mechanically deformed to produce instrinsic magnetic anisotropy by grain alignment. The saturation magnitude of the induced anisotropy is not a function of grain size but the saturating field required increases with decreasing grain size. In the larger grains, induced anisotropy is a function of grain orientation.     

Changes of anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility of rocks induced by a magnetic field

Summary The changes of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of igneous rocks, induced by a magnetic field, are studied. It is proved that changes in the degree of anisotropy of susceptibility and of the orientation of the susceptibility ellispoid of specimens occur due to the configuration of the domain structure under the effect of the magnetic field. The influence of this effect on the total anisotropy of rocks depends on the degree of anisotropy due to the shape factor and on the stability of the domain structure. A model concept is presented, explaining the qualitatively different pattern of the changes of the anisotropy of susceptibility under the effect of the magnetic field in various directions of the specimens.     

Factors influencing magnetic susceptibility in the southern Pyrenees

We analyse paramagnetic, ferrimagnetic and frequency-dependent susceptibility in the southern Pyrenees and northern Ebro basin. The analyzed rocks show a wide range of values for the three parameters within the different lithological groups. Sandstones, shales and marls exhibit middle to high values of paramagnetic susceptibility while mudstones usually show low values. However, a general correlation can be established for the different rock types with a wide variability for each group (for example, Eocene marls show average values of paramagnetic susceptibility of 82% but within a range between 12 and 99%, or Flysch materials, with mean values of 47–52% within a range between 15 and 90%). These changes in the paramagnetic contribution to the susceptibility are due to the change in the ferrimagnetic susceptibility. This wide variability is independent of the sedimentological characteristics and can be related to the higher ferrimagnetic contribution to the susceptibility with similar ferrimagnetic mineral phase assemblages. The ferrimagnetic and superparamagnetic contributions, independent of site location with respect to individual macrostructures (thrusts and nappes), show a sharp increase at the occurrence of the macroscopic regional Pyrenean cleavage, probably relating both aspects with changes in pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions.     

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility variations in Icelandic columnar basalts

The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) has been determined for 81 samples from eleven horizontal columnar segments from two Icelandic near-vertical dikes. Near-vertical orientation of short AMS axes and corresponding long-axis horizontal orientations in most columns represents alignments consistent with compactive effects due to vertically directed forces exerted by overlying columns. These data are inconsistent with primary orientations resulting from thermal contractive stresses, but such stresses may be responsible for the secondary orientations observed.     

The development of magnetic susceptibility anisotropy through crystallographic preferred orientation in a calcite rock

High-field torque-meter measurements of diamagnetic susceptibility anisotropy of a suite of samples of Carrara marble, axially shortened by amounts up to 50% at (1.5–3.0) · 10⁸ Pa confining pressure and at 20–500°C (mainly 400°C), have been compared with optical measurements of preferred crystallographic orientation. A revised value for the susceptibility anisotropy of calcite has been obtained from studies of single crystals, and it has been shown to be almost independent of the state of intracrystalline plastic strain. From the measured anisotropy of calcite, quantitative comparison of optical and magnetic fabric measurements is possible. It is found that these measurements agree and the implications of the observed progressive development of fabric intensity with strain are discussed.     

巴基斯坦Bahawalpur黄土岩石磁学特征及磁化率变化机制研究

风成黄土是陆地上分布最广泛的沉积物之一,记载了各种古气候演化信息.目前巴基斯坦的黄土研究甚少,磁化率与气候对应的变化机制研究尚未开展.本文对位于巴基斯坦印度河平原Bahawalpur地区新发现的黄土-古土壤剖面进行系统的岩石磁学研究,结合粒度和漫反射光谱(DRS)数据,讨论巴基斯坦黄土的磁化率变化机制.实验结果显示：Bahawalpur (BH)剖面黄土层主要的载磁矿物为磁铁矿,同时含有少量磁赤铁矿和针铁矿,磁性颗粒以原生的MD和PSD颗粒为主.相对于黄土层,古土壤层则是以针铁矿为主,含有顺磁性矿物和少量磁铁矿.BH剖面磁化率与成土作用关系和中国黄土高原典型剖面相反,磁化率的变化可能存在一个阈值12.8×10^-8m³·kg^-1,在阈值之上,强磁性矿物(磁铁矿、磁赤铁矿)占主导;阈值之下,以弱磁性矿物(主要是针铁矿)为主,这种磁性矿物的转变可能导致磁化率降低.本文可为今后利用磁化率解读该地区地层蕴含的古气候信息提供新线索.

     

On the magnetic susceptibility anisotropy of deep-sea sediment

Susceptibility anisotropies in the form of vertically prolate ellipsoids have been reported in many deep-sea sediment cores. The results of the present investigation suggest that these anisotropies may not describe the original magnetic fabric of deep-sea sediment, but are more likely due to either a measurement effect or to deformation of the sediment during coring. Anisotropy measurements made on a spinner magnetometer sometimes were found to be greatly affected by the shape of the sample. This apparent “sample-shape effect” was not observed on a low-field torque meter. The anisotropy of samples taken near the base or the top of some piston cores often reflects sediment disturbance during the coring operation. Most samples of deep-sea sediment examined had weak anisotropies that could be interpreted as due to normal depositional processes, including bioturbation. The best-fitting susceptibility ellipsoids were usually oblate with near vertical minimum susceptibility axes.     

Anisotropic magnetic susceptibility of rocks under mechanical stresses

Summary The magnetic susceptibility of a rock under a uniaxial compression () decreases along the axis of compression and increases along the direction perpendicular to the axis, with an increase of . Thus, the magnetic susceptibility of a compressed rock becomes anisotropic.The decrease of longitudinal susceptibility,K (), and the increase of transverse susceptibility,K (), are theoretically derived from a model of rock which assumes the uniaxial anisotropy and the isotropic magnetostriction of magnetic minerals in rocks and a random orientation of the minerals. Results show thatK () decreases toward zero whereasK () increases and approaches a finite asymptotic value with an increase of , and –(/)K () is twice as large as /K () for small values of . These results are in good agreement with experimental data.

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Zusammenfassung Die magnetische Suszeptibilität eines Steines unter zunehmender uniachsigen Druckspannung () nimmt ab längs der Achse der Druckspannung und nimmt zu längs der Richtung senkrecht der Achse. Somit wird die magnetische Suszeptibilität des gedrückten Steines anisotrop.Die Abnahme der longitudinalen Suszeptibilität,K (), und die Zunahme der transversalen Suszeptibilität,K (), werden theoretisch von einem Modell eines Steines hergeleitet, das die uniachsige Anisotropie, die isotrope Magnetostriktion, und eine nichtbevorzugte Orientierung der magnetischen Minerals im Stein annimmt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass mit einer Zunahme des ,K () gegen Null abnimmt, währendK () zunimmt und sich einem begrenzten asymtotitschen Wert nähert und, dass für kleine Werte des , –(/)K () zweimal so gross wie /K () ist. Diese Ergebnisse stimmen gut mit den Versuchangaben überein.

     

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in the Scaglia Rossa pelagic limestone

During folding of the Scaglia Rossa limestone in Umbria, Italy, deformation was mainly accommodated by pressure solution cleavage. Fossils between the cleavage planes appear visibly undeformed, yet the limestone possesses a weak magnetic fabric. The maximum and intermediate principal axes of the magnetic anisotropy ellipsoid define a distinct magnetic foliation plane within which a weak concentration of the maximum axes forms a magnetic lineation. Neither of these features is of sedimentary origin. Results from a slumped outcrop, where bedding and a cleavage induced by overburden compaction have different attitudes, show that the magnetic foliation is caused by the compaction. Comparisons with field-derived structural data suggest that the magnetic lineation was produced tectonically during deformation of the Apennine fold belt.     

Assessment of magnetite as a magnetic tracer for sediments in the study of ephemeral gully erosion: Conditioning factors of magnetic susceptibility

In gully erosion, the detached soil can be transported over long distances along the landscape. The eroded material can be redistributed and/or deposited on the soil surface along the landscape and then eventually be buried by newly eroded and deposited sediment. There can be significant variability of the soil conditions (e.g., texture and moisture content) over which the eroded material travels. The eroded material can be detected through the use of magnetic tracers attached to or mixed with the eroded soil. In this study we evaluated the degree to which the magnetic signal of the magnetite is conditioned by (i) burial depth of tracer, (ii) condition of soil covering the tracer and (iii) tracer concentration. In the laboratory containers were filled with a specific soil. In the filling process, a 0.5-cm layer of a soil–magnetite mixture was interspersed in the soil profile at a certain depth. Experiments encompassed three different soil–tracer concentrations (1000:1, 200:1, 100:1), four burial depths of tracer (0 cm, 3 cm, 5 cm and 10 cm from soil surface), and two different soils. In each case, the magnetic susceptibility was measured with a susceptometer. Experiments were repeated with different soil moisture contents. If the tracer is located under the soil surface, a minimum soil–tracer concentration of 200:1 is required for its correct detection. The intensity of the magnetic signal decreases dramatically with the vertical distance of the tracer from the soil surface. The maximum detection depth for the tracer's magnetic signal is strongly dependent on the natural magnetic susceptibility of the soil, which masks the tracer's signal. Variation in soil moisture content does not significantly affect the magnetic signal. For extensive field studies, the soil–tracer volume to be handled would be very high and therefore, it is necessary to explore new tracer application techniques.     

Measurements of thermal magnetic susceptibility of hematite and goethite

Magnetic susceptibility (MS) of natural specimens of hematite and goethite is studied under continuous heating with various additives: with carbon (sugar), nitrogen (carbamide), and elemental sulfur. It is found that heating of hematite with carbon above 450°C results in the formation of single-domain magnetite, while the magnetic susceptibility rises by a factor of 165. The increase in magnetic susceptibility on heating of hematite with nitrogen above 540°C reflects the generation of a single-domain maghemite with the Curie point of about 650°C, which is stable to heating. After the first heating, the magnetic susceptibility increases by 415 times. The subsequent cycle of thermal treatment results in the transition of maghemite to hematite, a decrease of MS, and an increase of coercivity. Heating with sulfur produces a stable single-domain magnetite at a temperature above the Curie point, which is manifested in the cooling curves. Here, the MS increases by a factor of 400. The heating curves for goethite exhibit a sharp drop in susceptibility to a temperature of 350–360°C, which reflects the transition of hematite to goethite. Heating of hematite with carbon produces stable maghemite at above 530°C, and with sulphur and nitrogen, it produces magnetite. When heated with pyrite, hematite reduces to magnetite under the action of sulfur released from pyrite.     

塔里木盆地前寒武地层岩石磁化率

在塔里木盆地前寒武结晶基底研究过程中,为了准确建立地层地磁模型,对库鲁克塔格地区岩浆岩、柯坪地区沉积岩、塔什库尔干地区变质岩地层进行系统取样及岩石薄片鉴定和准确命名,并测量岩石密度、磁化率.研究发现:①库鲁克塔格地区:基性、超基性岩蛇纹石化析出磁铁矿,磁化率剧烈变化,而中、酸性侵入岩磁化率随黑云母含量增加而增大;②柯坪...     

Tracing sediment movement in interrill overland flow on a semi-arid grassland hillslope using magnetic susceptibility

Experiments were undertaken to determine the feasibility of tracing sediment movement in interrill overland flow. Crushed magnetite was introduced as a source-line 10 cm wide by 8 m long on a runoff plot 18 m wide by 29 m long located in southern Arizona. Initial magnetic susceptibilities along this source line, and along three transects located 0·25, 2·95 and 5 m downslope of the source-line, were measured. Movement of the magnetite in response to three rainfall simulation experiments was monitored. During the first two experiments, overland flow discharge was sampled at miniature flumes located along two cross sections on the plot downslope of the source-line, and at a supercritical flume at the plot outlet. Magnetic susceptibilities along the source-line and transects were measured after all three experiments. Results show that the magnetite moves very early in the experiments and that it reaches one of the flumes 2 m downslope of the source-line in 3 min. Most of the tracer moves a very short distance: 29·7 per cent is deposited within 25 cm of the source-line and only 2·2 per cent is deposited 2·95 m away. The deposition rate appears to decrease exponentially away from the source-line. Very little magnetite is recorded in the flow through the miniature flumes: in general it makes up less than 1 per cent of the total sediment load. No temporal pattern in these percentages is observed. Magnetite appears to be an effective tracer of sediment movement in interrill overland flow, though its higher density than natural soil may affect its detachment and transport.     

Inter-laboratory calibration of low-field magnetic and anhysteretic susceptibility measurements

Inter-laboratory and absolute calibrations of rock magnetic parameters are fundamental for grounding a rock magnetic database and for semi-quantitative estimates about the magnetic mineral assemblage of a natural sample. Even a dimensionless ratio, such as anhysteretic susceptibility normalized by magnetic susceptibility (K_a/K) may be biased by improper calibration of one or both of the two instruments used to measure K_a and K. In addition, the intensity of the anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) of a given sample depends on the experimental process by which the remanence is imparted. We report an inter-laboratory calibration of these two key parameters, using two sets of artificial reference samples: a paramagnetic rare earth salt, Gd₂O₃ and a commercial “pozzolanico” cement containing oxidized magnetite with grain size of less than 0.1 μm according to hysteresis properties. Using Gd₂O₃ the 10 Kappabridges magnetic susceptibility meters (AGICO KLY-2 or KLY-3 models) tested prove to be cross-calibrated to within 1%. On the other hand, Kappabridges provide a low-field susceptibility value that is ca. 6% lower than the tabulated value for Gd₂O₃, while average high-field susceptibility values measured on a range of instruments are indistinguishable from the tabulated value. Therefore, we suggest that Kappabridge values should be multiplied by 1.06 to achieve absolute calibration. Bartington Instruments magnetic susceptibility meters with MS2B sensors produce values that are 2-13% lower than Kappabridge values, with a strong dependence on sample centering within the sensor. The K_a/K ratio of ca. 11, originally obtained on discrete cement samples with a 2G Enterprises superconducting rock magnetometer and a KLY-2, is consistent with reference parameters for magnetites of grain size <0.1 μm. On the other hand, K_a values from a 2G Enterprises magnetometer and K values from a Bartington Instruments MS2C loop sensor for u-channel and discrete cement samples, will produce average K_a/K values that are unrealistically high if not properly corrected for the nominal volume detected by the sensors for these instruments. Inter-laboratory measurements of K and K_a for standard paleomagnetic plastic cubes filled with cement indicate remarkable differences in the intensity of the newly produced ARMs (with a standard deviation of ca. 21%), that are significantly larger than the differences observed from the calibration of the different magnetometers employed in each laboratory. Differences in the alternating field decay rate are likely the major source of these variations, but cannot account for all the observed variability. With such large variations in experimental conditions, classical interpretation of a “King plot” of K_a versus K would imply significant differences in the determination of grain size of magnetite particles on the same material.     

Support vector machines and gradient boosting for graphical estimation of a slate deposit

Critical for an efficient and effective exploitation of a slate mine is to obtain information on its technical quality, in other words, on the exploitability potential of the deposit. We applied support vector machines (SVM) and LS-Boosting to the assessment of the technical quality of a new unexploited area of a mine, and compared the results to those obtained for kriging and neural networks. Firstly we analyzed the relationship between kriging and semi-parametric SVM in a regularization framework and explored the different alternatives for training these networks. Subsequently, in an attempt to combine both radial and projection structures, we formulated a boosting technique for radial basis function (RBF) networks defined over projections in the input space (RBFPP). The application of these techniques to our test drilling data demonstrated a similar level of performance for all the estimators examined, with the main difference occurring in the shape of the respective deposit reconstructions. Therefore, in choosing between the different techniques, an essential aspect will be their ability to reproduce the morphological characteristics of the true process. In this paper we also evaluate the benefits of using the estimated covariogram as the kernel of the SVMs and compare the sparsity of the different solutions. The results obtained show that the selection of a standard kernel that ignores the variability structure of the problem produces poorer results than when the estimated covariogram is used as the kernel.The research of J. Taboada was supported by the European Union, FEDER program, Project 1FD97–0091. The research of W. González-Manteiga was supported by Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of the Spanish Government, Project BFM2002–03213. The authors wish to thank the associate editor and an anonymous referee for stimulating comments.     

A high-resolution magnetic susceptibility study of a loess/palaeosol couplet at Baoji,China

Summary Magnetic susceptibility, and its frequency dependence, are reported for 288 individual samples spanning the 8.3 m — thick S3 palaeosol/L4 loess couplet at an important site in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The resulting profile demonstrates that there is a very close link between magnetic properties and soil development: soil and loess sub-divisions recognised visually in the field are clearly reflected in both the bulk susceptibility data and in its frequency dependence. As found at all Chinese sites, the distribution of susceptibilities is bi-modal, one peak representing loess (median=0.74×10⁻⁶m³/kg), the other representing palaeosol (median=2.99×10⁻⁶m³/kg). This is the basis of the climatic proxy information. The Baoji section is the site of one of the most detailed grain-size analyses available anywhere (Ding et al., 1994), and we find a strong correlation between the resulting profile and the susceptibility data reported here. Frequency-dependence of susceptibility exhibits slight differences between the loess and palaeosol populations which we interpret as reflecting reduced transport distances during glacial intervals when the Siberian High causes stronger winds and expands southwards.