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Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics pp 717–729Cite as

Magnetic Anisotropy

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

The magnetic properties of rocks and minerals are generally anisotropic, that is, they are directionally dependent. Magnetic anisotropy of minerals arises from either fundamental anisotropy in the crystal structure or from the shape of nonspherical ferromagnetic grains. The most common cause of magnetic anisotropy in rocks is the preferential distribution-orientation of the constituting minerals, in other words the rock fabric.

Introduction

Pioneering works on the magnetic anisotropy of rocks were carried out during the 1940s and 1950s (Ising, 1942; Graham, 1954). These authors first realized that magnetic methods may be used to characterize the preferred orientation of minerals within the rock samples. Ising studied varved clays in Sweden and noticed that the magnetic susceptibility was higher on the bedding plane than orthogonally to it. Graham recognized that the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) may be regarded as a petrofabric element; he later extended the...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Rome, Italy

    Leonardo Sagnotti

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  1. Leonardo Sagnotti
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Correspondence to Leonardo Sagnotti .

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  1. National Geophysical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Hyderabad, India

    Harsh K. Gupta

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Sagnotti, L. (2011). Magnetic Anisotropy. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_113

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