Towards a Unified Observational View of M-Dwarf Magnetism

The surface magnetic fields of M dwarfs are inherently multi-scale, dominated by small-scale structures while also hosting weaker large-scale components. Historically, these two aspects of stellar magnetism have been studied in isolation, using distinct diagnostic techniques - Zeeman broadening for small-scale fields and spectropolarimetry for large-scale fields. This separation has led to a fragmented understanding of M-dwarf magnetism, with these methods often producing highly discordant field strength measurements. We present our ongoing research aimed at bridging this divide by unifying small- and large-scale magnetic field measurements within a single modelling framework. Achieving this requires both higher-quality observations, particularly in the near-infrared, and the development of advanced computational techniques capable of capturing the inherently multi-scale nature of stellar magnetic fields. We demonstrate the first results of applying this integrated approach to several active M dwarfs. These results reveal significantly revised perspectives on the geometry and structure of low-mass magnetic fields, offering a more complete and coherent observational picture of convective dynamos, stellar magnetospheres and their interaction with potentially habitable exoplanets.