Acquisition of a JR-6A Spinner Magnetometer

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The Earth’s magnetic field is a fundamental force surrounding our planet and has been for at least 3.5 billion years. The magnetic field provides a shield around the planet protecting us from incoming energetic particles from space. Paleomagnetism, or the study of Earth’s magnetic field as recorded in rocks, artifacts, or sediments, is a powerful tool that can be used study an array of important topics in the geosciences. Knowledge of past paleogeography, resulting from paleomagnetic research, aids in exploration in natural resources critical to society. In addition, magnetic signatures in plants and soils can provide information about the level of pollutants in the environment. All these studies require the use of the sensitive spinner magnetometer funded in this proposal to be able to identify and quantify the magnetic signature in rocks and other natural materials. In the era of supercomputers and artificial intelligence, models of plate motion, climate change, and the behavior of the geodynamo inside the Earth are increasingly complex. These models should be data driven (ground truthing), which requires a direct record from the rocks or sediments. To generate these data, the laboratory space must be maintained, efficient, and modern. This proposal allows us to upgrade and modernize an aging Molspin spinner magnetometer that was commissioned in 1996. An updated JR-6a magnetometer will allow us to maintain high productivity given its flexibility, sensitivity, and modern computer interface. More generally, the work that would be supported by the acquisition of a new magnetometer addresses science priority question one, “How is Earth’s internal magnetic field generated?”, released in the National Academies decadal report Earth-in-Time for NSF-EAR.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.