Collaborative Research: NSFGEO-NERC: The history of the Earth's magnetic field strength over the last five million years: Filling in the southern hemisphere gap

地核产生的地球磁场在我们的日常生活中起着至关重要的作用。它不仅引导罗盘针，而且还起到保护盾的作用，使有害的太阳和宇宙粒子偏转。然而，关于这个磁场的历史和变化的基本问题仍然没有答案。一个有趣的假设是存在持续的半球不对称，这得到了跨越500万年的长期数据汇编的支持。为了深入研究这些谜团，该项目将开展一项综合研究项目，采用创新的实验和分析策略，同时重点关注南半球，以解决可靠数据方面的重大差距。这项努力的目的是提供一幅更清晰的古代磁场及其随时间演变的图景。除了揭开地球磁场的历史，这个项目对科学和社会都有更广泛的意义。了解磁场的行为对推进地球物理学、气候科学和空间天气预报等各个领域的研究具有巨大的潜力。通过精心收集和分析来自南半球的新样本，结合对现有数据集的全面重新分析，研究小组的目标是完善我们对过去500万年磁场强度的了解。这些努力将提高我们解释古地磁记录的能力，并提高在不同科学学科中使用的模型的准确性。此外，该项目还致力于促进教育、多样性和知识传播。它积极支持代表性不足的群体的参与，并促进早期职业女性科学家的工作。广泛的教育资源，包括教学课程和开源软件包，将进一步开发，让地球科学专业的学生学习古地磁和Python编程。该团队还深入参与MagIC数据库的开发，促进对有价值的古地磁数据的开放获取，并鼓励科学界的合作。通过坚持可查找、可访问、可互操作和可重用（FAIR）数据和开放代码的原则，该项目确保生成的所有数据以及用于解释数据的代码都易于访问，从而促进进一步的研究和发现。这是加州大学圣地亚哥分校、佛罗里达大学和利物浦大学的科学家合作提出的一项建议，因此由美国国家科学基金会（NSF）和英国自然环境研究委员会（NERC）共同资助。这个研究项目旨在解决围绕地球磁场的基本问题。具体来说，它侧重于理解持续的半球不对称的存在，这已经得到了覆盖500万年的长期数据汇编的支持。该项目提出了一种多管齐下的方法，包括以南半球为目标的实验、分析和采样任务。研究小组将采用优化的实验和分析策略，结合新的采样任务，解决全球古地磁数据库的空白。通过从南半球收集样本，他们的目标是增强该地区在数据库中的代表性，并提高对磁场行为的理解。此外，该团队将对现有数据集进行细致的分析，以获得更准确的古代磁场随时间变化的描述。为了确保获得的古代场强估计的可靠性，该项目结合了严格的数据分析和稳健的实验方案。此外，研究人员将为成功估算古地磁强度提供精确的日期，从而提高数据的整体质量和准确性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Earth's magnetic field, generated in the Earth’s core, plays a vital role in our daily lives. It not only guides compass needles, but it also acts as a protective shield, deflecting harmful solar and cosmic particles. However, fundamental questions about the history and variation of this magnetic field remain unanswered. One intriguing hypothesis is the presence of a persistent hemispheric asymmetry, supported by long-term data compilations spanning five million years. To delve into these mysteries, this project will undertake a comprehensive research project, employing innovative experimental and analytical strategies while focusing on the Southern Hemisphere to address significant gaps in reliable data. This endeavor aims to provide a clearer picture of the ancient magnetic field and its evolution over time. Apart from unraveling the Earth's magnetic history, this project has broader significance for both science and society. Understanding the behavior of the magnetic field holds great potential for advancing various fields of study, such as geophysics, climate science, and space weather forecasting. By meticulously collecting and analyzing new samples from Southern Hemisphere locations, combined with a comprehensive reanalysis of existing datasets, the research team aims to refine our knowledge of the magnetic field's strength over the last five million years. These efforts will enhance our ability to interpret paleomagnetic records and improve the accuracy of models used in diverse scientific disciplines. Furthermore, this project is committed to fostering education, diversity, and knowledge dissemination. It actively supports participation of underrepresented groups and promotes the work of an early career female scientist. Extensive educational resources, including teaching curricula and open-source software packages, will be further developed, allowing Earth Science majors to learn about paleomagnetism and Python programming. The team is also deeply engaged in the development of the MagIC database, facilitating open access to valuable paleomagnetic data and encouraging collaboration within the scientific community. By adhering to the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR) data and Open Code, the project ensures that all data generated, and the code used to interpret the data, will be readily accessible, enabling further research and discoveries. This is a collaborative proposal between scientists at the University of California San Diego, University of Florida, and Liverpool University, and is therefore co-funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the United Kingdom’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).This research project aims to address the fundamental questions surrounding the Earth's magnetic field. Specifically, it focuses on understanding the presence of a persistent hemispheric asymmetry, which has been supported by long-term data compilations covering a span of five million years. The project proposes a multi-pronged approach, encompassing experimental, analytical, and sampling missions targeting the Southern Hemisphere. The research team will employ an optimized experimental and analysis strategy, combined with new sampling missions, to address gaps in the global paleomagnetic database. By collecting samples from Southern Hemisphere locations, they aim to enhance the representation of this region in the database and improve the understanding of the magnetic field's behavior. Additionally, the team will conduct a meticulous analysis of existing datasets to obtain a more accurate depiction of the ancient magnetic field over time. To ensure the reliability of the obtained estimates of ancient field strength, the project incorporates rigorous data analysis and robust experimental protocols. Furthermore, the researchers will provide precise dates for successful paleomagnetic intensity estimates, contributing to the overall quality and accuracy of the data.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.