Hematite (α-Fe2O3) quantification in sedimentary magnetism: limitations of existing proxies and ways forward

Determination of hematite contributions to sedimentary magnetizations is an important but difficult task in quantitative environmental studies. The poorly crystalline and fine-grained nature of hematite nanoparticles makes quantification of their concentrations in natural environments challenging using mineralogical and spectroscopic methods, while the weak magnetization of hematite and often significant superparamagnetic nanoparticle...