This award provides for two-thirds of the funds required to acquire a Kappabridge magnetometer,reputed to be the most sensitive, off-the-shelf system for measuring anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) over short time periods (minutes). The university is committed to provide the additional funds to make this acquisition possible. The instrument will be used by the PI and his students in a study designed to test the effect of progressive metamorphism on the development of AMS in rocks containing paramagnetic minerals and essentially no ferromagnetic minerals. Certain types of AMS data are reported to be helpful in interpreting the strain state and strain history of deformed rocks.This kind of information is necessary to reconstruct the nature and magnitude of orogenic (mountain building) processes. Several other faculty and students from nearby colleges and universities also intend to use this instrument.
