Tracking Earth's Past Magnetic Moments
Science / Earth
Tuesday March 14, 2017
The key to understanding Earth's prehistoric magnetic field lies hidden in the rocks. Specifically, igneous rocks, basalts that cooled from liquid magma spewed out of volcanos. Geologist Lisa Tauxe of the University of California, San Diego, and her team, traveled to Antarctica to collect rock samples that can tell them more about the planet's magnetic field over the past few million years. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program.