The influence of periglacial activity on the remanent magnetization of sediments

Abstract

The palaeomagnetic investigation of an ice-wedge cast in Late Pleistocene loess deposits in Belgium demonstrated that the upturned strata adjacent to the wedge have retained a stable remanence which can be used as a marker to visualize the strain. Different wedge fillings could be differentiated and identified on the basis of their remanent magnetization and magnetic susceptibility properties. Deformations due to periglacial activities easily escape observation, particularly in cores, and hence large associated anomalous magnetization directions may be erroneously interpreted as 'excursions' of the geomagnetic field.