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Contents:

1 - Introduction; 2 - Basic Magnetism; 3-3 Enviromagnetic minerals; 4 - Measurement and techniques; 5 - Processes and pathways; 6 - Time; 7 - Magnetoclimatology and past global change; 8 - Mass transport; 9 - Magnetism in the biosphere; 10 - Magnetic monitoring of polution; 11 - Archaeological and early hominid environments; 12 - Our planetary magnetic environment.

Review:

One of the pleasures of reviewing is unexpectedly finding material that is either new or has a very much different slant to that which is normally published. This text is one of those. Usually I research texts and then request those I think are most suited but this one was offered. Initially, I wondered what it could offer but as I read through the text it became obvoius that here was a small part of the environment that was less known but which could offer some useful insights. The basic idea is that virtually every aspect of the world has some magnetic property. What is needed is for people to understand the nature of that magnetism, find out its basic parameters and then apply this information to our current understanding and see what it offers by way of confirmation or new insight.

The sub-title of the text is 'principles and application of enviromagnetics' which gives us the direction for the work. It's not so much a study of magnetism (although several chapters do cover this in detail) but a study of what magenetism (or, more accuraltely, remnant or remaining magnetism) can tell us about changes in the environment. As the authors rightly note, this is a new field with references rarely back before the 1980s. In the early days it was used as one of the dating techniques common in archaeaology but now it's being seen as another tool to help understand global environmental changes. Chapter one sets out the development of magnetic analysis, shows some examples where it can be applied and where the subject is useful. From the start we are given a firm understanding of the place of magnetic analysis and its value in problem-solving current issues. From there, we are led into the various aspects of the subject in both theory and practice. Chapters two, three and four form a unit examining the three core parts of environmental magnetism: the nature of magnetism, magnetic materials and measuring magnetism. Chapter five looks at the ways in which magnetic materials can be altered in chemically and/or physically whilst chapter six continues with this theme describing changes through time. The remainder of the text demonstrates the utility of magnetic measurements in relation to a series of key use areas. Chapter seven shows how we can discover climatic changes (one of the earliest uses of the technique was in the analysis of lake sediments and the climatic patterns they showed). Chapter 8 provides examples of the mass movement of materials, especially useful in the analysis of landfills. Chapter 9 is somewhat of a contrast because it looks at the current biosphere and the use of magnetism by organisms. Since heavy metals might also be magnetic, chapter 10 shows how pollution studies can be improved by the use of the techniques described earlier in the book. Chapter 11 does back to the root of magnetic analysis when it demonstrates its utility in archaeological settings in areas diverse as grave analysis, dating and pottery analysis. Finally, we get to see how our global magnetism fits into a broader environment.

This is a very unusual book. It deals with a very small, but relevant, area of environmental analysis. The wealth of detail and the authors' enthusiasm carry the reader along. Even though there are several passages requiring considerable knowledge (this is not a book for the beginner in science) overall one gains greatly from the work covered. This should certainly be on the reading list of environmental archaeologists and palaeoclimatologists but it would also provide a set of uncommon and interesting case studies in broader environmental courses.