Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Contributors -- Preface -- 1- Introduction -- Evolution of Quaternary climate -- Magnetic contributors to sediments, soils, dusts and organic tissues -- A tool kit for the environmental magnetist -- Magnetic parameters -- Instrumentation -- Measurement techniques -- Magnetic units -- Magnetic properties of natural crystals -- Magnetic discrimination -- Magnetic modelling -- Magnetic investigations in Quaternary contexts -- References -- 2- The North Atlantic as a Quaternary magnetic archive -- Introduction -- Magnetism and climate in the North Atlantic -- Heinrich layers -- Mechanisms for generating Heinrich events -- The relationship between Heinrich layers and climate -- Heinrich layers and sediment sources -- Magnetic signatures of Heinrich layers -- Proximal sedimentation: the magnetic signature of Heinrich layers from the Labrador Sea -- Geographic variation in magnetic properties and the signature of Heinrich events -- Conclusions -- References -- 3- Palaeomonsoons I: the magnetic record of palaeoclimate in the terrestrial loess and palaeosol sequences -- Introduction -- The East Asian summer and winter monsoons -- Sources of the loess? -- Chronology of the Chinese loess and soil sequences -- The magnetic properties of the Chinese loess-soil sequences -- Morphology and source of the loess/soil magnetic minerals. -- The present day connection between climate and soil magnetism -- Palaeoclimate from palaeosusceptibility -- Soil chronofunctions -- Palaeoclimate reconstructions -- Other approaches to palaeoclimatic reconstruction from the Chinese loess and soils. -- Alternative views -- Magnetism-palaeosol relationships in other parts of the world -- Future prospects -- Acknowledgements -- References.

4- Palaeomonsoons II: magnetic records of aeolian dust in Quaternary sediments of the Indian Ocean -- Introduction -- Palaeowinds from dust records in deep-sea sediments -- Central North Atlantic -- Aeolian flux to the north-west and central Pacific -- Magnetic susceptibility as a record of aeolian dust in Indian Ocean sediments -- Paramagnetic/diamagnetic contributions to magnetic susceptibility -- Zone 1 (0-1.7 m) -- Zone 2 (1.7 m-~7 m) -- Zone 3 (7-10.5 m) -- Zone 4 (10.5-~22 m) -- Zone 5 (~22-90 m) -- Magnetic mineralogy from magnetic extracts -- Mineralogy of the magnetic extracts -- Magnetic mineralogy of magnetic zones 1-5 -- Source of the paramagnetic susceptibility signal -- Source of the Owen Ridge magnetic susceptibility signal -- Summary -- Future prospects -- Acknowledgements -- References -- 5- Bacterial magnetite and the Quaternary climate record -- Introduction -- Ecology and physiology of magnetogenic bacteria -- Magnetotactic bacteria -- Dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria -- Ecology -- Identification of bacterial magnetosomes in Quaternary sediments and soils -- Magnetic identification -- Identification of bacterial magnetite by microscopy -- Bacterial magnetite in Quaternary sediments -- Marine sediments -- Conclusions: bacterial magnetite and the Quaternary climate record -- References -- 6- Incidence and significance of magnetic iron sulphides in Quaternary sediments and soils -- Introduction -- The structural properties of the iron-sulphide system -- Physical structures and low temperature phase fields -- Magnetic properties of the ferrimagnetic iron sulphides -- Greigite -- Monoclinic pyrrhotite -- Occurrences of ferrimagnetic iron sulphides in freshwater sediments and terrestrial environments -- Palaeosalinity in the Baltic -- Iron sulphides in marine sediments.

Chemical remanent magnetizations carried by iron sulphides: magnetostratigraphic conundrums -- Self-reversal of iron sulphides -- The future -- Methods -- Summary -- Acknowledgements -- References -- 7- Holocene environmental change from magnetic proxies in lake sediments -- Introduction -- Lough Neagh revisited -- Sources of magnetic minerals in lake sediments -- Holocene susceptibility trends -- Long term decreasing or stationary trend -- Long term increasing trend -- Recent records -- Detrital records -- Dilution effects -- Particle-size -- Sediment sources -- Mixing models -- Core correlation and sediment loads -- Magnetic properties as records of diagenesis or authigenesis. -- Magnetic proxies of climate change through glacial-interglacial cycles -- Records of atmospheric deposition -- Fire histories and tephra deposits -- Pollution records -- Final comments -- Acknowledgements -- References -- 8- Magnetic monitoring of air-, land- and water-pollution -- Introduction -- Atmospheric pollutants -- Heavy metals in fly-ashes -- Magnetic minerals associated with atmospheric particulates -- Magnetic properties of coal-fired airborne particles -- Magnetic minerals, heavy metals and road traffic -- Magnetic airborne particles and identification of pollution sources -- Occupational exposure -- Magnetic mapping of atmospheric deposition of pollution -- Soil magnetometry and anthropogenic pollution -- Magnetic measurements on miscellaneous carriers of airborne particles -- Magnetic properties and pollution of fluvial and marine sediments -- Miscellaneous ('non-industrial pollution') -- Extraterrestrial versus volcanic magnetite -- Eolian sedimentation and iron contribution to aerosols -- Coupling between magnetic minerals and heavy metals -- Conclusions -- Acknowledgements -- References.

9- Environmental factors affecting geomagnetic field palaeointensity estimates from sediments -- Introduction -- Sediment palaeointensity normalization techniques -- Holocene palaeointensity estimates -- Late Pleistocene palaeointensity estimates -- Brunhes palaeointensity estimates -- Discussion -- Conclusions -- References -- 10- Magnetic cyclostratigraphy: high-resolution dating in and beyond the Quaternary and analysis of periodic changes in… -- Introduction -- Orbital cycles and astronomical time-scales -- The orbital cycles -- A breakthrough in geological dating: astronomical time-scales for the late Neogene -- Cyclicity and diagenesis within the marine sedimentary environment -- Cyclic variations in diagenetic conditions -- Sapropels -- Bed-to-bed, marine-continental correlations -- The early Pliocene Ptolemais formation -- Synthesis: conclusions and outlook -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Index.