Rock magnetism underpins our interpretation of numerous paleomagnetic and environmental magnetic phenomena, yet there are a number of areas within rock magnetism that are evolving rapidly and may lead to new understandings and applications. This session welcomes contributions to applied and fundamental rock magnetic research from all areas ranging from basic mineral identification to geological interpretation. Both field and laboratory-based studies are encouraged, as well as numerical simulations and theoretical applications. Topics for this session include, but are not limited to, (1) understanding magnetic recording mechanisms in non-ideal recorders (numerical and experimental approaches), (2) magnetic and nonmagnetic mineral identification techniques (e.g., magnetic granulometry, numerical unmixing low-temperature magnetometry, Mössbauer spectroscopy, magnetic hysteresis, electron microscopy, etc.), (3) challenges in recovering paleointensities (both relative and absolute) of the ancient geomagnetic field, (4) identification of magnetic mineral alteration pathways, and (5) and methods for distinguishing mineral fabrics from induced and remanent magnetic anisotropies.