KNGMG Noord lezing: Unraveling rapid fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field

First of all, KNGMG Noord wishes you a happy and healthy 2018!

Also this year, we will continue to surprise you with a diverse selection of earth scientific highlights – this time we invite you to join a talk from from a top researcher on the earth’s magnetic field:

Time:     Tuesday 9 January 2018, 17:00-18:00.
You are welcome from 16:30 onwards. Drinks and some snacks will be available.

Place:     NAM office, Room 2J.04 (the “Yellow Room”).
If you come from outside the NAM office, please register in advance by reply to this mail.

Title:      “Unraveling rapid fluctuations in the Earth’s magnetic field”

 Presented by: Lennart de Groot (Assistant Professor in Geomagnetism, Utrecht University)

Abstract:

The Earth’s magnetic field protects the Earth against electromagnetic radiation from the Sun; an increase in this radiation on the Earth’s surface would hamper technological advancements such as mobile communication with satellites and planes, Wi-Fi, and GSM networks. Over the past centuries the intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field – and thereby the protection against electromagnetic radiation – decreased by 25%, illustrating the variability of the field on relatively short time scales. Regionally, the field can fluctuate even more rapidly, as there is ample evidence that for a region in the Middle-East the field was three times stronger than today only 3000 years ago. In this lecture we will explore the origin of the Earth’s magnetic field, its variability on different time scales, and its application in various branches of the Earth sciences.

About Our Speaker:

During his PhD research Lennart de Groot (1984) developed new methods to obtain magnetic information from igneous rocks, the only recorder of the Earth’s magnetic field that captures both paleomagnetic directions and intensities, and is available all over the globe and throughout geological history. By combining methods from material sciences with tradition methods used in Earth sciences he produced a number of new insights into the processes governing the recording and storage of paleomagnetic signals in rocks, as a result he was awarded the first Cum Laude distinction for a PhD thesis since the establishment of the paleomagnetic research group in 1963. In 2015 Lennart received the Vening Meinesz Prize, a bi-annual award presented by the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO) recognising young talent in the Earth sciences in the Netherlands. In November 2017 Lennart was appointed as assistant professor in geomagnetism at Utrecht University.

Other KNGMG Noord activities for season 2017-2018:

6 February 2018:      “There is more in and about salt than meets an oilman’s eye” by Gerhard Diephuis

6 March 2018:           “Geology of the Eifel: an introduction” by Jack Lanting

3 April 2018:              “What we can learn from planet Mercury” by Jurrien Knibbe

10-12 May 2018:       Three-day fieldtrip to the Eifel, led by Heinz Bürgisser and Willem Schuurman

You can still sign up for the Eifel fieldtrip. We do have a short waiting list but, who knows, some people may drop off.

We hope to see you all next week, Tuesday 9th January!

The KNGMG Noord Committee: John Verbeek, Daan den Hartog Jager, Madelon Nijman, Jilles van den Beukel