The Magnetic Signature of Stress in Rocks
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Magnetic signatures preserved in rocks have long provided insight into Earth's evolution, revealing processes from plate tectonics to the habitability of Earth. While large impacts are known to impose extreme stresses (>1 GPa) and heat that fundamentally alters magnetic records, lower stresses typical of earthquakes have been considered magnetically undetectable. We show that magnetic responses to sub‐GPa stresses can be precisely calibrated, enabling three‐dimensional paleostress reconstructions in rocks—even stresses of just a few MPa can fully reset magnetic signals without heat or deformation. This newly revealed magnetic sensitivity to stress opens a powerful, non‐destructive pathway to detecting paleostress fields in the elastic crust, offering new opportunities for improving seismic hazard assessment, interpreting impact processes, and re‐evaluating magnetic records across Earth and Planetary sciences.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl119973
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Awards: Using magnetic responses of natural magnetic systems to quantify geohazards., Earthquake fracture damage and feedbacks in the seismic cycle: a multidisciplinary study, MicroPI: A micromagnetic approach to absolute palaeointensity determinations, G757678951, Thermochemical remanent magnetisations: How do they affect ancient magnetic field intensities from the Earth and Solar System?, Particles to Planets: Unravelling the history of our magnetic field
OpenAlex ID: W7127899617