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The core dynamos of Mars and the Moon have distinctly different histories. Mars had no core dynamo at the end of accretion. It took ∼100 Myr for the core to create a strong dynamo that magnetized the martian crust. Giant impacts during 4.2–4.0 Ga crippled the core dynamo intermittently until a thick stagnant lithosphere developed on the surface and reduced the heat flux at the core–mantle boundary, killing the dynamo at ∼3.8 Ga. On the other hand, the Moon had a strong core dynamo at the end of accretion that lasted ∼100 Myr and magnetized its primordial crust. Either precession of the core or thermochemical convection in the mantle or chemical convection in the core created a strong core dynamo that magnetized the sources of the isolated magnetic anomalies in later times. Mars and the Moon indicate dynamo reversals and true polar wander. The polar wander of the Moon is easier to explain compared to that of Mars. It was initiated by the mass deficiency at South Pole Aitken basin, which moved the basin southward by ∼68° relative to the dipole axis of the core field. The formation of mascon maria at later times introduced positive mass anomalies at the surface, forcing the Moon to make an additional ∼52° degree polar wander. Interaction of multiple impact shock waves with the dynamo, the abrupt angular momentum transfer to the mantle by the impactors, and the global overturn of the core after each impact were probably the factors causing the dynamo reversal.

The power spectra and degree correlation of the surface topography and free-air gravity anomalies of eastern Canada show that the gravity anomalies are subdivided into three parts. The short-wavelength components (30-170 km, shorter than 30 km are not well resolved) largely arise from density perturbations in the crust and to a lesser extent from the surface topography and Moho undulation, whereas the contribution of intracrustal sources to the intermediate-wavelength components (170-385 km) is comparable with that of the topography. The long-wavelength components (385-1536 km) are overcompensated at the Moho. We present a crustal model for the intermediate- and long-wavelength components which takes into account the surface topography, density perturbations in the crust, and Moho undulation with a certain degree of isostatic compensation. The general characteristics of this model resemble the crustal structure revealed from seismic measurements. The reduced-to-pole magnetic anomalies of eastern Canada show no pronounced correlation with the topography and with the vertical gradient of the gravity anomalies, suggesting that the source bodies are within the crust and Poisson's relationship does not hold over the entire area. Assuming that the magnetic anomalies arise from induced magnetization, lateral variations of magnetic susceptibility of the crust are determined while taking into account the effects of the surface topography and the Moho undulation of our crustal model. The intermediate- and long-wavelength components of the susceptibility contrasts delineate major collision zones as low-susceptibility regions. We interpret this in terms of thermal demagnetization of the high-magnetic crustal roots beneath the collision zones.

Satellite magnetic anomaly maps show well-defined negative anomalies over some deep sedimentary marginal basins, such as the Nova Scotia marginal basin. A possible explanation would be the thermal demagnetization of the oceanic upper crust due to thermal blanketing by the sediments and the oceanic lower crust and uppermost mantle due to subsidence into hotter regions beneath. We examine this possibility by computing the thermoviscous remanent magnetization of the oceanic lithosphere beneath the Nova Scotia basin using a detailed thermal evolution model which takes into account the continental rifting, sea-floor spreading, and subsequent subsidence. It is concluded that the thermal demagnetization is not sufficient to explain the entire observed negative magnetic anomaly over the basin; it contributes ~40% to the anomaly. We suggest that a major part, ~60%, of the anomaly arises from the particular location of the early Mesozoic oceanic lithosphere beneath the basin, which has a relatively weaker bulk remanent magnetization compared with a highly magnetic continental crust in the west and north and the strong magnetic oceanic lithosphere of the Cretaceous Quiet Zone in the east.

Band-limited magnetic anomalies over the Canadian Shield, for wavelengths of ~500–2200 km, derived from the magnetometer satellite (MAGSAT) data correlate peak for peak with the corresponding anomalies derived from the aeromagnetic data. This suggests that the anomalies detected by MAGSAT are physically meaningful. A new potential field satellite, Geopotential Research Mission (GRM), has been proposed to fly at about 160 km altitude. The magnetic anomaly map that can be derived from the GRM data is expected to have a resolution about an order of magnitude higher than the one derived from MAGSAT data. A magnetic anomaly map of the Canadian Shield, which is expected to derive from the GRM data, is shown based on the aeromagnetic data. The map delineates many major geological features quite clearly and illustrates the importance of the GRM mission for global geological mapping.

A low-pass filtered aeromagnetic map of southern Vancouver Island is inverted into a magnetization-contrast map that illustrates the lateral variations in the magnetization of the crust. The Island Intrusions and the West Coast Crystalline Complex are characterized by high magnetization relative to the other lithologic groups. The Island Intrusions form an almost continuous pluton in the deeper part of the crust. The low-magnetic Leech River Formation thickens northward. The almost uniform magnetic signature of the Leech River Formation in the east–west direction indicates that the crustal structure revealed from the Lithoprobe seismic results is typical throughout the formation west of the Survey Mountain fault. A low-magnetic zone, elongated in the northwest–southeast direction, cuts through the high-magnetic Metchosin basalts from the southern tip of the island to the Leech River fault. It coincides with the Sooke gabbros exposed in the southern tip of the island, implying that the gabbros probably cut the entire Metchosin basalts at depth.