This research was carried out in north-central Poland, which was occupied by the ice sheet of the Saalian (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 6) and Upper Stadial of the Weichselian (MIS 2) glaciation. The application of the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) method supported by a digital elevation model (DEM) analysis of the orientation of glacial landforms allowed for the reconstruction of ice-sheet extent and ice movement directions of these two Pleistocene glaciations. The research used an innovative method of collecting AMS till samples from the glacial plateau areas. Based on the research, it was found that during the general recession of the ice sheet of the Saalian glaciation, a previously undescribed glacial transgression occurred, characterized by a different direction of ice-sheet movement. On the basis of detailed geomorphological studies of the area of terminal moraines, previously described in fragments, the maximum extent of the ice sheet during the Weichselian glaciation was clarified. The recession of the ice sheet of the Weichselian glaciation from the area of north-central Poland took place in four regressive or transgressive–regressive stages with variable directions of ice-sheet movement. The results obtained indicate the great potential of the AMS method in paleoenvironmental studies of glaciated areas.

We investigate the shape and strength of the magnetic fabrics (anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) data) of various massive granitic plutons from different parts of India, using the eigenvalue method. The study aims to analyse eigenvalues and establish their relationship with various deformational attributes. It involves: (1) calculating eigenvectors and their corresponding eigenvalues from magnetic fabric datasets; (2) finding a link between the geometrical appearance of eigenvectors and the mechanistic issues involved with a specific deformation scenario; and (3) determining shape and strength parameters from the magnetic foliation data distribution.

The statistical analysis for the unimodal magnetic fabric dataset of orthorhombic symmetry class implies that the plane, consisting of intermediate (V2) and minimum (V3) eigenvectors with pole V1, accurately traces the instantaneous stretching axis (ISAmax) of a particular material flow system under a pure shear regime. Moreover, for the distributions of similar symmetry and modality, we infer that the rotational characteristics of eigenvectors with respect to a fixed coordinate cause a distinct shift of such planes (V2–V3) from the ISAmax of a steady-state flow system under simple shear, where a substantial amount of rotational strain is involved. However, our findings also suggest that variation in symmetry and modality of magnetic fabric data distribution of different studied granitoids can directly influence the relative disposition of V2–V3 with respect to the direction of ISAmax. We conclude that eigenvalue analysis of magnetic fabrics is a powerful approach, which can be utilized while studying the salient deformational aspects of any syntectonic massive granitic body.

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) is a frequently applied method in sedimentology, especially in the determination of the orientation of transport processes. We present an analysis of magnetic fabric (MF) studies on loess. New aspects of fabric development reveal: i) The deposition of the aeolian sediments was controlled by gravity, low-energy transport and local geomorphology, hence no clarified wind direction can be defined. ii) The influence of phyllosilicates is also significant among the magnetic components. iii) While the primary MF is relatively well-defined, the secondary MF is influenced by several processes. The analysis of stereoplots combined with the q—β diagram and photostatistics showed encouraging results during the characterization of various secondary MF such as redeposited MF and pedogenic fabric. iv) Changes in processes from aeolian to water-lain deposition and the increasing transportation energy were reflected by the connection between AMS and observed micro-scale sedimentary features. v) A relationship was obvious between the degree of pedogenesis and the transformation of sedimentary MF into a vertical MF typical for paleosols. vi) The significant role of very fine grained magnetite on the formation of inverse MF could not be excluded.

The Vila Pouca de Aguiar granite pluton, emplaced during the latest event of the Variscan orogeny of northern Portugal, is here subjected to a detailed study that combines magnetic fabric measurements and gravity modelling of its shape at depth. This laccolith, less than 1 km in thickness over ≈60% of its outcrop area, appears to be fed from its northern area, through narrow conduits, up to 5 km deep, belonging to a set of Y-shaped valleys that almost perfectly correspond to the local Régua–Verin fault-system identified in the geological maps. A normal petrographical zonation, already identified geologically, appears to be rather progressive, although a gradient in magnetic suceptibility magnitude in-between the two main magma types is evidenced. It is suggested that the first to be emplaced and the least evolved granite type (Vila Pouca de Aguiar Granite) upwelled from the local, NE-trending fault-zone, acting as a dyke, and formed a thin sill where NE-directed magma flow was dominant, at least close to the floor. The more evolved granite type (Pedras Salgadas Granite), located just above the main feeder zone, and deeply rooted at the intersection beween underlying faults, is at the centre of a remarkably regular concentric distribution of the foliation trajectories. They may reflect the late doming of the laccolith's northern part, coeval with a slight E-W extension of the inflating magma reservoir, as marked by the E-W-trending lineations. Along with ubiquitous magmatic to near-magmatic microstructures and particularly low anisotropy magnitudes, such patterns can be entirely explained by magma movement within its inflating reservoir. This composite laccolith, during emplacement of which no interference with the regional strain pattern can be recorded, is therefore considered as typical of post-tectonic emplacement.