Definition and introduction
The Earth’s magnetic field comprises two main components: the core field, caused by motions of the electrically conductive, liquid iron mixture in the outer core, and the crustal field, caused by magnetic minerals within rocks in the Earth’s crust. Geological applications focus on the crustal field, which has spatial variations with wavelengths <1,000 km and amplitudes generally <1,000 nT (nanotesla). The separation of core and crustal field is effected through removal of a mathematical model of the core field known as the IGRF (International Geomagnetic Reference Field). The IGRF is based on mainly magnetic observatory, ship- and satellite-based magnetometer measurements and is updated every 5 years. Once isolated, the (crustal) magnetic field can be used to infer the magnetic properties of the rocks within the Earth’s crust and hence provide indications of geological structure and composition. Measurements of the Earth’s magnetic field for mapping purposes...
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Singhroy, V.H., Pilkington, M. (2014). Geological Mapping Using Earth’s Magnetic Field. In: Njoku, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_38
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_38
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