Magnetic susceptibility values for topsoils across England are combined with data for soil type, geochemistry and concentrations of magnetotactic bacteria in order to evaluate different theories for explaining soil magnetism. Strongly magnetic soils in unpolluted areas are found over weakly magnetic substrates and are dominated by ultrafine superparamagnetic grains. Magnetotactic bacteria are present in insufficient concentrations to account for strongly magnetic soils, and crop burning is discounted as a major factor. A small number of samples show high values associated with either airborne magnetic particulates from pollution or residual primary ferrimagnetic minerals from igneous substrates. The results are used to construct a new mechanism for the formation of secondary ferrimagnetic minerals that links abiological weathering and biological fermentation processes. The fundamental driving force in the mechanism is Fe supply, which may be linked to climate. Observed causative associations between climate and the magnetic susceptibility of loess-palaeosol sequences are supported by the findings.

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