This year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the cryogenic magnetometer located at the CEREGE Chalet on the Technopole de l'Arbois, home to the Magnetism, Materials and Geophysics platform.
The palaeomagnetism team at the Quaternary Geology Laboratory consisted of Nicolas THOUVENY (CR CNRS since 1985 and since Professor, Director of OSU PYTHEAS, Director of UAR 3470), three PhD students, David Williamson, Tamrat ENDALE and Pieter VLAG. But also Bernard REPETTI, IE CNRS, Trevor WILLIAMS and Adry VAN VELZEN, both post-docs.
"At the time, and until 2001, the magnetometer was equipped with radio-frequency SQUIDs instead of direct current. With a 12 cm aperture, the signals measured were sensitive to disturbances in the electrical network and to air mass movements that changed its thermal balance. As far as we were concerned, it was out of the question to take measurements when the lift was going up and down, when the laboratory door was open, or when there was traffic in the corridor! Our first disappointment was the magnetisation of the Vostok ice (supposedly a trace of volcanic dust) masked by pollution from the metal corer. says Nicolas THOUVENY.
In 1994, when the 3 geosciences laboratories in Marseille merged, CEREGE was created. Its move to l'Arbois provided an opportunity to bring together all the equipment, including the cryogenic magnetometer, in the Chalet, thanks to its non-magnetic chamber, and to optimise the tool.
Today, with an H-index of at least 70 that many others could boast of, the cryogenic magnetometer continues to serve science with precision and regularity. All that remains is to wish this magnificent investment a long and happy career!
