News
07.07.2025A new superconducting magnetometer, unique in Catalonia
The CCiTUB has a new superconducting magnetometer for automated measurement in U-channels, thanks to the granting of the EQC2021-007274-P grant funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union Funds Next Generation EU (convocation corresponding to the year 2021) endowed with a financing of 701,310€.
The acquisition of the new magnetometer, the only equipment of its kind in Catalonia, makes the Paleomagnetism Laboratory of the CCiTUB-GEO3BCN the first laboratory in Spain equipped with two superconducting rock magnetometers.
This represents a qualitative leap in the laboratory's range of services, facilitating multidisciplinary and excellent research aligned with the challenges of Horizon Europe (climate change, natural resources and sustainability and/or geological risks). In addition to continuing to serve consolidated laboratory users, mainly dedicated to Earth Sciences and Archaeology, the acquisition of the new magnetometer allows to serve researchers in the fields of paleoecology, paleoceanography, limnology and the study of global change.
The equipment is now available to the entire scientific community at the Paleomagnetism Laboratory (CCiTUB and GEO3BCN-CSIC), which is located in Geosciences Barcelona (GEO3BCN CSIC).
Equipment features: More resolution, faster, more sustainable
The superconducting magnetometer for automatic measurement in U-channels is designed for the measurement of rock cores/continuous sediments. U-channels are rigid plastic tubes that are attached to the cores to encompass the sediment. The continuous measurement of U-channels allows high quality paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental data to be acquired quickly and non-destructively. Continuous measurements involve an increase of several orders of magnitude in data acquisition, which allows high-resolution records on paleoecological and paleoenvironmental changes recorded in sediments.
The new equipment has 3 SQUID sensors that allow to measure simultaneously the X-Y-Z components of the remaining magnetization of the sample with a high sensitivity. In addition, it is equipped with an automatic sample holder and several coils in line for the demagnetization of samples by alternating fields (AF) and/or the imparting of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM). The arm and coils allow programming and automation of the demagnetization sequences and measurement of the remanent magnetization, increasing the speed of the measurements.
From the point of view of sustainability, the new equipment is based on a technology that allows superconducting without the need for liquid He, a very volatile and scarce element on our planet, through a compressor that lowers the temperature of the SQUIDS to only 4K.
Technology Application
The measurement of the remanent magnetization in sediment probes by U-channels can provide a continuous record of the secular variation of the magnetic field and/or changes in geomagnetic polarity, allowing precise dating of the stratigraphic record. On U-channels, magnetic properties of the sediment can also be studied for environmental magnetism studies. As these are non-destructive measurements, information on magnetic mineralogy and other mineralogical and/or isotopic information can be incorporated into the chronological frameworks obtained through paleomagnetism in order to accurately characterize the paleoclimatic and paleoecological conditions recorded in the sediments of the survey.