Identification of magnetic coercivity components in natural substances using Max Unmix web-application

Abstract

Identification of magnetic minerals in rocks and other natural substances (sediments, ashes, soils, etc.) is important in Earth sciences. Such identification often uses a measurement of the IRM (isothermal remanent magnetization) acquisition curve that in turn provides the coercivity spectrum of the sample. In this study, MAX Unmix web-based application was used to unmix the coercivity spectrum of 13 natural samples to obtain their coercivity components. Digitized IRM acquisition data were inputted into the application, then adjusted specific parameters to obtain a best-fit coercivity spectrum revealing coercivity components. As a result, two to three components are generally identified for each sample. MAX Unmix application is highly recommended in future studies requiring the identification of magnetic minerals in natural substances.