[Now with illustrations!]I realized shortly before I left the US that I’d written a few posts on what it is that a paleomagnetist does, but nothing about the purpose of our research cruise. I have a couple of days before Expedition 354 starts (I’m spending a few of those in Japan, filling up on ramen […]
Orientation
Posts useful if you are new and just getting yourself set up in the lab.
A Geologic Mystery: #ThinSectionThursday and #TBT… on Friday
Geologists like me like to cut and grind thin slices of a rock [1] – thin enough to see through – and look at them in a microscope using polarized light. The polarized light allows us to identify minerals more easily than we can by eye [2]. The thin slice of rock is called a […]
Basics of Magnetism 2: The Geodynamo
Here’s the second in a series that explains the basic ideas in paleo-, geo-, and rock magnetism. I’m hoping to separate the real-life mysteries and wonder from the jargon that sometimes makes magnets seem like magic tricks. Have a question about any of these posts? Or about any aspect of paleomagnetism? I’d love to hear it. […]
Basics of Magnetism 1: Compasses
When I tell people that I study the history of Earth’s magnetic field, I get a bit self-conscious – as if I just told someone I specialize in Santa Claus. Geologists call us “paleomagicians” for a reason. You can’t see magnetic fields. You can’t touch them. Unlike most geological stuff, nothing obvious happens if you […]