9633500 Herrero-Bervera This grant provides $60,000 as one-half support of the costs of acquiring a 2-G superconducting rock magnetometer (SRM) equipped with DC SQUIDS for the paleomagnetics laboratory at the University of Hawaii. The acquisition of a state-of-the-art SRM at the University of Hawaii will provide for high sensitivity measurements of the relative paleointensity recorded in weakly magnetized marine sediments for research on the behavior of the Earth's geomagnetic field. Furthermore, its reduced operating costs relative to continued operation of their antiquated ScT SRM, due to the high boil off rate of liquid nitrogen and helium associated with its operation, will be economically beneficial in the long run for the health of the paleomagnetic research program at Hawaii. This acquisition provides a valuable institutional and regional resource for paleomagnetic studies which will include studies of geomagnetic field behavior, marine and lacustrine magnetostratigraphy and polarity transitions observed in igneous rocks. ***