Welcome to the Paleomagnetic Laboratory
Paleomagnetic studies are used to trace the “paths of drift of continents” through time. Magnetism gets recorded in rocks when they form – like many tiny compass needles pointing north being “frozen” into the rock. Measurement of the magnetic directions in rocks enables us to determine the orientation and latitude of the rock mass at the time of its formation. It allows the reconstruction of the components of ancient continents, now fragmented by plate tectonics. Paleomagnetic data can also date rock successions indirectly.
This laboratory is part of the Rock and Paleomagnetism Instrument Development Consortium orRAPID