Abstract A marine sediment core from the western Mediterranean provides a new high-resolution 4500 year record of palaeomagnetic secular variation and relative palaeointensity. In 2013, the 7.1 m C5 core was recovered from the Tyrrhenian Sea as part of the NextData climate data project. The coring site, 15 km offshore from the Volturno river mouth, is well located to record combined marine and terrestrial palaeoclimatic influences, and the fine-grained, rapidly deposited sediments are effective palaeomagnetic recorders. We investigate the palaeomagnetic field direction and strength recorded in the core, which provide a valuable high-resolution record of Holocene geomagnetic variation in the area. Using rock magnetic techniques, we constrain the magnetic mineralogy of the studied sediments and confirm their suitability for palaeomagnetic analysis. Palaeomagnetic declination and inclination records were determined by stepwise alternating-field demagnetization, and relative palaeointensity estimates were obtained based on normalization to anhysterestic and isothermal remanent magnetization and to magnetic susceptibility. The age of the core is well constrained with a tephra and biostratigraphic age model, and its magnetic records are compared with relevant core and model data for the region, demonstrating that our record is compatible with previous results from the area. An automated curve matching approach is applied to assess the compatibility of our data with the existing secular variation path for the Mediterranean area.

Abstract Fabric is a ubiquitous and significant feature of geological materials. The processes involved in the formation and deformation of rocks and sediments leave their mark on the orientations of the constituent mineral grains. Petrofabrics thus provide essential keys to understanding the history of geological materials. Magnetic anisotropy is directly related to petrofabric, and has become one of the most rapid, sensitive and widely used tools for its characterization. The relationship between magnetic fabric and petrofabric is complex and depends on various factors including the composition, concentration and grain size of mineral grains. Ongoing research in geological applications is paralleled by studies of the fundamental mineral magnetic phenomena involved. The papers in this book represent the current state of investigations in magnetic anisotropy studies as a discipline that integrates geological interpretations, mineral fabric development, technical advances and rock-magnetic properties.

The scale of application of geophysical methods in archaeology has been quite limited in comparison to exploration geophysical surveys employed in engineering, hazardous-waste, ground-water, oil and gas, and mineral research. Archaeogeophysical projects have been directed toward discovering or detailing archaeological features that are generally smaller in scale and occur over a relatively smaller range of sizes than the features of interest in exploration geophysics. It is suggested that the interplay of scale of application with both research orientation and limitations of the geophysical methods has worked to constrain the use of geophysical technology in archaeology. By expanding the scale of archaeogeophysical research beyond the traditionally defined discrete archaeological feature, archaeologists can more fully exploit the potential of this technology. The use of geophysical methods to investigate both broad- and small-scale archaeological phenomena and the problems and prospects of such research are illustrated with data from the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in southwestern Illinois.

Multiple varve counts over common intervals in four parallel cores permit estimation of the precision of the Elk Lake varve chronology. At the 95% confidence level, the imprecision of the counts averages 12%. External evidence and comparison of independent varve counts suggest that the accuracy of the varve chronology is well within this limit. Magnetic susceptibility is shown to be an exceptional tool for determining stratigraphic correlations, allowing unambiguous matching of all cores used.