Acquisition of Paleomagnetic Equipment for the Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire

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0086672ClydeThis grant provides partial funding for the development of a paleomagnetic laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. This laboratory will strengthen research activities at UNH in three general ways. It will (1) support the PI's research into magnetostratigraphy, (2) augment other University of New Hampshire faculty research programs in geophysics, tectonics, and stratigraphy, and (3) enhance the undergraduate and graduate curriculum. The laboratory will be outfitted with a SQUID-based spinner magnetometer, a dual-chamber thermal demagnetizer, an alternating-field demagnetizer, and a three-dimensional field compensation coil system in which to house and operate this equipment.At present there is no paleomagnetic facility in northern New England that is capable of measuring the remanent magnetization of weakly magnetized sediments. This laboratory will provide this capability to researchers at UNH and surrounding institutions. The primary research of the PI focuses on investigating the role that climatic and tectonic changes play in the evolution of mammals. This research requires the ability to make precise chronostratigraphic correlations among continental sections and between continental sections and marine sections. Magnetostratigraphy is the most reliable and applicable method to carry this out. Other faculty at UNH will use the facility to augment their research into magnetic surveying, Appalachian tectonism, eustatic sea-level changes, and the stratigraphic architecture of paleoaquifers. Several undergraduate and graduate classes will also use the facility for hands-on laboratory exercises.***