This award provides one-half the funds required to acquire a cryogenic magnetometer system for paleomagnetic research in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Southern California. The magnetometer system will be used in research projects on the magnetochemical studies of rocks and rock-forming sediments to determine the source of their paleomagnetic properties and how these change with time. Other projects using the new system include studies of the paleosecular variations of the earth's magnetic field during the Plio-Pleistocene, microplate tectonic studies of displaced terranes in the southwestern U.S., and magnetostratigraphic measurements of marine and terrestrial sedimentation sequences.
