A new protocol for three‐axis static alternating field demagnetization of rocks

Static three-axis alternating field (AF) demagnetization is the most common method regularly implemented for removing magnetic components of rock samples. This method is so widely used that one of its main limitations, the acquisition of gyroremanence (GRM), is often not accounted for or even discussed. The presence of GRM likely interferes more than is recognized in accurate determination of the most stable remanence. The accepted method proposed by Dankers and Zijderveld (1981) for excluding GRM affected measurements requires nearly triple the amount of lab work, and by consequence, is almost never regularly implemented on large batches of samples. Here, we present a laboratory procedure and subsequent analysis (SI method) that removes the effects of GRM in static AF demagnetization without requiring extra laboratory work. This paper, therefore, describes a new standard protocol for efficient static AF demagnetization of rocks.