Upgrade of Spinner Magnetometer for Continuing and New Paleomagnetic Research Objectives at Tufts University

Tufts University, Medford MA

Investigators

Abstract

This Division of Earth Sciences Instrumentation and Facilities Program award supports acquisition of an Agico JR-6 Dual Speed Spinner Magnetometer to measure magnetism in oriented geological samples at Tufts University. The instrument would replace a 32-year old and no longer functional magnetometer. The magnetometer measures: polarity, which varies between a normal polarity, like the present Earth’s field, and a reversed field in which magnetic directions are flipped 180 degrees from today’s field; magnetic declination, which is a measurement of how the field direction differs from true north; and magnetic inclination, which is the dip away from horizontal of Earth’s magnetic field direction at any given place. Time varying magnetic signature of rocks and sediments are used for correlation and age dating. Student training in paleomagnetic methods and research applications will be advanced with the acquisition and the investigator plans local outreach through guided field trips and production of educational materials targeted at K-12 teachers and students to advance awareness of the Earth’s magnetic field and its time varying dynamic behavior. Research projects that will immediately benefit from the new magnetometer include study of: the chronology and spatial distribution of glacial varve deposition in New England and by inference the history and mechanisms of Quaternary glacial activity in the region; the tectonic and paleogeographic history of Neoproterozoic rocks of the Avalon terrane; the pre-Wisconsinan glacial history of New England based on determination of the chronology of subglacial till and intra-till lake deposits. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.