The paleomagnetic field and possible mechanisms for the formation of reversed rock magnetization

Abstract Investigations of ancient magnetized rocks show that their natural remanent magnetization (NRM) can be oriented in the direction of modern geomagnetic field (GMF) as well as in the opposite direction. It is supposed that reversed NRM is related to reversals of the GMF in the past geological periods. During reversals, the strength of the GMF is near zero and can cause the destruction of living organisms as a result of powerful space and solar radiation, which, in the absence of the GMF, can reach the Earth's surface. That is why the question of reality of the GMF reversals is of global ecological importance. There is also another natural mechanism for the formation of reversed NRM—the self-reversal of magnetization as a result of thermomagnetization of rocks. In the paper, both natural processes for the formation of reversed NRM in rocks are discussed, and the results of experimental research on the physical mechanism of self-reversal of magnetization in continental and oceanic rocks are presented. The results of computer modeling of the self-reversal phenomenon are also presented.