An OSU Facility supported by the National Science Foundation

Welcome to the Paleo-and-Environmental Magnetism Laboratory in the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. The P-Mag Lab is an NSF supported OSU facility dedicated to sediment magnetism and a resource for Pacific NW, national and international scientific communities.

The U-Channel Magnetometer

The P-Mag Lab is built around the unique capabilities of the liquid helium free 2G Enterprises superconducting rock magnetometer (SRM) optimized for u-channel samples. U-channel samples are rigid u-shaped plastic liners (2 x 2 cm cross-section) that completely enclose cored sediments up to 1.5 m in length. This state-of-the-art system provides the capability to rapidly acquire high quality environmental and paleomagnetic data continuously on u-channel samples. The several orders of magnitude increase in data acquisitions allows new archives to be explored and older ones to be more thoroughly examined. Discrete samples can also be rapidly measured with this system.

Our Research

Our approach is to use the high throughput of the u-channel SRM to:

  1. Reconstruct the space/time patterns of the geomagnetic field.
  2. Develop and employ geomagnetic change as a stratigraphic dating tool.
  3. Reconstruct environmental variability through the rock magnetic response to laboratory magnetizations.

Materials for study come from a wide range of sources, including international science programs such as the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and the International Continental Drilling Program, PI driven field programs and retrospective research on the large core collection available at the OSU-Marine Geology Repository.

Recent Blog Posts

 

First Core on Deck!

After much travel and preparation, the first core for Exp 354 has been recovered!  For the uppermost sediment at each site we will be using the Advanced Piston Corer or APC, which tends to have the best recovery, least disturbance, and uses IODP's new Icefield...

Boarding the JOIDES Resolution

IODP Expedition 354 Bengal Fan is off to an exciting start.  The science party boarded the JOIDES Resolution on January 30 and has been busy preparing to set sail this morning for our first site.  While in port, our days are spent getting to know one another and...

Getting Ready for IODP Exp. 354: Bengal Fan

Brendan Reilly is headed this weekend to Singapore where he will join IODP scientists, staff and crew aboard the RV Joides Resolution for Exp. 354 Bengal Fan.  He will be working with the other shipboard paleomagnetists to develop the initial magnetostratigraphy and...