The IRM at 25: A Quarter Century of Community-Based Research and Education at the Institute for Rock Magnetism

Abstract:

A 1986 meeting on the future of rock magnetism proposed an idea for a center where researchers in rock magnetism, other earth science disciplines, and allied fields in the physical sciences could share ideas and have access to advanced instrumentation in magnetism. The idea became reality in 1990, when the Institute for Rock Magnetism (IRM) was established as a shared resource for the GP and broader research communities, providing instruments to study the magnetism of rocks, sediment, biological materials and synthetic analogs. This is accomplished with a suite of instruments that measures magnetization from 2-1000 K, in DC fields up to 5 T and AC fields up to 10 kHz. These are complemented by Mössbauer spectrometers (4.2-300K, 0-6.5T), a high-temperature magnetic force microscope (T_max~ 673 K), and a low-temperature probe (20-300 K) for vector remanence measurements. A unique aspect of the IRM was that it allowed for routine measurements below 300 K and provided new ways of "seeing" magnetism. This has enabled researchers to study magnetic behavior through magnetic ordering temperatures, crystal phase transitions, and blocking temperatures, providing new insights into mineral magnetism as well as developing new methods to interpret the magnetism of natural materials.

The main access to the IRM is the Visiting Fellowship (VF) program, where 379 have been awarded representing 157 institutions from the US and 30 countries. Nearly 50% of VFs have gone to students. The total output of visiting and in-house researches have produced about 800 publications to date. The IRM also provides education and outreach activities including: (1) The IRM Quarterly with over 600 subscribers; (2) The Biennial Santa Fe meetings on the current state and future trends in magnetic research; and (3) The Biennial Summer Schools for Rock Magnetism offering graduate students in the geosciences with instruction in rock magnetism theory and hands-on lab training.