This grant supports acquisition of new paleomagnetic equipment by Bryn Mawr College (BMC) for the purposes of (1) supporting research into fold-thrust belt kinematics, global tectonics, paleogeography, and fundamental aspects of paleomagnetism and its applications, (2) supporting new creative initiatives in interdisciplinary faculty and student research in fields such as environmental magnetism, geoarcheology, marine geology and paleoclimateology, and (3) enhancing undergraduate research and the curriculum at BMC. Equipment to be purchased includes: 1) a spinner magnetometer and related accessories to measure remanent magnetizations in sediment and rock samples, 2) demagnetization instruments (including thermal and alternating field demagnetizers) to progressively remove remanent magnetizations under controlled laboratory conditions, 3) a magnetically shielded space in which to perform the paleomagnetic analysis, and 4) basic rock magnetic equipment for characterization of magnetic mineralogy. The capabilities of this equipment will enhance a broad base of innovative structural geology and tectonic research at BMC, and will greatly enhance the college's new interdisciplinary efforts. These new facilities will be available for use by researchers at other educational institutions throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Finally, the acquisition of these new facilities will be incorporated into college courses, and undergraduate students will be actively involved in all research projects that will utilize the requested equipment. Because all undergraduate students at BMC are women, the equipment will serve to train underrepresented students in the geosciences. ***
