Palaeointensities from sediments: normalization by laboratory redepositions

Deep-sea sediments, comprising small magnetic grains in coarse and fine fabrics, were reconstituted and deposited in laboratory fields. Both the magnitude and the direction of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) were accurately reproduced. Only the middle coercivity fraction, however, gave a faithful representation of the laboratory field. This same fraction originally held the stable NRM component. The results were interpreted on a model of post-depositional realignment based on the physical characteristics of the sediment. Laboratory redeposition was found to be a closer analogue to the NRM than were anhysteretic or other laboratory-induced magnetizations. Guidelines are given by which the techniques could be utilised to estimate the intensity of the ancient geomagnetic field.