Testing an inverse Thellier method of paleointensity determination

Abstract

We test a new inverse Thellier method of paleointensity determination. Instead of heating-cooling steps, it uses cooling-heating steps below room temperature Toto eliminate chemical alteration, a major cause of failure in the Thellier method. Inverse thermoremanent magnetization (ITRM), produced when magnetite warms from below the Verwey transition (Tv= 120 K) to Toin a field H, is a prime candidate for the inverse Thellier method. ITRM can be produced in nature if the interior of a magnetite-bearing meteorite is