Measuring, Processing, and Analyzing Hysteresis Data

Magnetic hysteresis loops are important in theoretical and applied rock magnetism with applications to paleointensities, paleoenvironmental analysis, and tectonic studies, among many others. Information derived from these data is among the most ubiquitous rock magnetic data used by the Earth science community. Despite their prevalence, there are no general guidelines to aid scientists in obtaining the best possible data and no widely available software to allow the efficient analysis of hysteresis loop data using the most advanced and appropriate methods. Here we outline detrimental factors and simple approaches to measuring better hysteresis data and introduce a new software package called Hysteresis Loop analysis box (HystLab) for processing and analyzing loop data. Capable of reading a wide range of data formats, HystLab provides an easy-to-use interface allowing users to visualize their data and perform advanced processing, including loop centering, drift correction, high-field slope corrections, and loop fitting to improve the results from noisy specimens. A large number of hysteresis loop properties and statistics are calculated by HystLab and can be exported to text files for further analysis. All plots generated by HystLab are customizable and user preferences can be saved for future use. In addition, all plots can be exported to encapsulated postscript files that are publication ready with little or no adjustment. HystLab is freely available for download at and in combination with our simple measurement guide should help the paleomagnetic and rock magnetic communities get the most from their hysteresis data.