Palaeomagnetic Facilities

The Natural Magnetism Group has the following facilities and equipment in the White City Lab:

• 1x 2G SQUID magnetometer (vertical). 
• 4x spinner magnetometeers 
• 1x Orion high-temperature low-field VSM (one of only 3 worldwide)
• 4x palaeomagnetic ovens (with heating options in He)
• 3 x Alternating field demagnetisers (maximum field 300 mT (highest available) + tumbling (better than static))
• Princeton Vibrating Sample Magnetometer with furnace. This is ideal for doing detailed rock magnetic analysis, using a method called FORCs (something I specialise in). This allows us to accurately quantify grain sizes etc. We also have the AGM option for this.
• Agico Kappa-bridge (susceptibility bridge) with high and low-temperature furnace, and anisotropy (AMS) option. We can look at Curie temperatures, low-temperature phases and magnetic fabrics with this.
• A range of other susceptibility metres, including an in-house core-logger.

In the SPIN-lab lab (in Imperial's Department of Materials); where Prof Adrian Muxworthy is a Co-I:

• A new (2019) Quantum Design Magnetic Properties Measurement System (MPMS). This uses SQUID technology to understand magnetic mineralogy and grain sizes (temperature range 1.8 to 1100 K, maximum field 9 T), examining transitions, e.g., Besnus transition in pyrrhotite at ~34 K.  
• 2x Electron Paramagnetc Resonance EPR systems. These are not routinely employed in the earth sciences, but I've just started doing some measurements on some North Sea sediments, with interesting results.