News
07.05.2025Two new features expand the services offered by the Palaeomagnetism Laboratory
With the MFK2 (AGICO) instrument, located at the CCiTUB-GEO3BCN Palaeomagnetism Laboratory, it is now possible to measure magnetic susceptibility as a function of frequency or magnetic field. In addition, using the cryostat CS-L and furnace CS-4 accessories connected to the MFK2, thermomagnetic curves (variation of magnetic susceptibility with temperature) can also be measured.
These new capabilities enable the characterization of the mineralogy responsible for magnetic remanence, complementing the techniques already available in the Laboratory. Specifically, the measurement of magnetic susceptibility as a function of frequency allows the identification of superparamagnetic particles and grain size variations of magnetic particles, which is particularly relevant for paleoclimatic studies.
The field-dependent susceptibility measurements enable the identification of ferromagnetic (s.l.) minerals and determination of the Ti content in titanomagnetites in the studied samples.
Furthermore, thermomagnetic curves make it possible to identify the magnetic minerals present in a sample, to semi-quantitatively differentiate the contributions of ferro- and paramagnetic minerals to magnetic susceptibility, to numerically characterize mineralogical alterations during heating, and to estimate the paleotemperatures reached by the studied materials.
Technical information
The MFK2 susceptibility bridge allows measurement of magnetic susceptibility at three different working frequencies: 976 Hz, 3904 Hz, and 15,616 Hz. Magnetic susceptibility measurements under varying magnetic field strengths are performed using a sequence of increasing fields (in A/m). For each frequency, the fields can be increased up to 700 A/m, 350 A/m, and 200 A/m, respectively.
The CS-4 furnace is used to measure the variation of magnetic susceptibility of minerals, rocks, and synthetic materials in the temperature range from room temperature up to 700 °C. The CS-L cryostat is used to measure susceptibility variations in the range from -192 °C (liquid nitrogen) to room temperature.
