Determining Individual Particle Magnetizations in Assemblages of Micrograins

Lennart V. de Groot*, Karl Fabian, Annemarieke Béguin, Pim Reith, Auke Barnhoorn, Hans Hilgenkamp

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)
51 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Obtaining reliable information from even the most challenging paleomagnetic recorders, such as the oldest igneous rocks and meteorites, is paramount to open new windows into Earth's history. Currently, such information is acquired by simultaneously sensing millions of particles in small samples or single crystals using superconducting quantum interference device magnetometers. The obtained rock-magnetic signal is a statistical ensemble of grains potentially differing in reliability as paleomagnetic recorder due to variations in physical dimensions, chemistry, and magnetic behavior. Here we go beyond bulk magnetic measurements and combine computed tomography and scanning magnetometry to uniquely invert for the magnetic moments of individual grains. This enables us to select and consider contributions of subsets of grains as a function of particle-specific selection criteria and avoid contributions that arise from particles that are altered or contain unreliable magnetic carriers. This new, nondestructive, method unlocks information from complex paleomagnetic recorders that until now goes obscured.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2995-3000
Number of pages6
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume45
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Rock magnetism
  • Rock physics

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