Magnetostratigraphy

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of a compass? It's a little tool that helps you find which way is north, south, east, and west. Magnetostratigraphy is kind of like using a compass to figure out how old rocks are.

You see, there's something called the Earth's magnetic field, and it's like a big invisible magnet that surrounds the entire planet. When rocks are formed, they contain these teeny tiny bits of iron that align themselves according to the Earth's magnetic field at the time. Kind of like how your hair might stand up straight if you rub a balloon on it.

Scientists can drill down into rocks and pull out little samples to test which way the iron in the rocks is pointing. By comparing this to what we already know about how the Earth's magnetic field has changed over time, we can figure out when the rocks were formed and how old they are.

It's kind of like solving a big puzzle, but with rocks and a compass. And it helps us understand how the Earth has changed over millions of years!