An investigation of the scattered remanent magnetization of the Dunnet Head sandstone

Summary. The directions of remanent magnetism of samples of the Dunnet Head sandstone from Scotland are very scattered on a scale down to a few millimetres, although an overall mean direction is reasonably well defined. The scattered directions show considerable stability against thermal demagnetization and there is evidence that haematite pigment is an important carrier of the remanence. It is concluded that the origin of the inhomogeneous magnetization is a disturbed ambient field during acquisition of chemical remanence by the pigment.