Earth and Planetary Magnetism

Search

en

Monitoring Particulate Matter in the Air

In environmental studies magnetic properties of soils and sediments can provide information on contamination and pollution, or changes in environmental conditions or climate. We have been involved in several collaborative projects that have used magnetic properties to monitoring for pollution or improve materials that are used for water remediation.

matter
Example of a tree bark that was sampled from tress in a small park in central Milan bounded on two sides by tram lines. The figure on the left shows magnetic susceptibility of the outermost bark samples, and the figure on the right the second outermost layer.  

We have also been involved in using magnetic properties to examine environmental change. For example, changes in magnetic properties can be indicative for flood events increased erosion. In another study of Chinese red clay dating of the clay samples with the use of magnetostratigraphy provided new insights on enhanced aridity in the mid-Eocene in central Asia.

Collaborations: A.M: Hirt, see publication list

  • L.C. Vezzola, G: Muttoni, M. Merlini, N. Rotiroti, L. Pagliardini, A.M. Hirt, M. Pelfini, Investigating distribution of airborne magnetic grains trapped in tree barks in Milan, Italy: insights for pollution mitigation strategies. Geophysical Journal International, 219, 989-1000, doi: 10.1093/gji/ggx232, 2017.
  • M. Ateia, C. Koch, S. Jelavic, A. Hirt, J. Quinson, C. Yoshimura, M. Johnson, 2017, Green and facile approach for enhancing the inherent magnetic properties of carbon nanotubes for water treatment applications. PLOS One, 12 (7), e0180636, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0180636, 2017.
  • J.X. Li, L.P. Yue, A.P. Roberts, A.M. Hirt, F. Pan, L. Guo, Y. Xu, R.G. Xi, L. Guo, X.K. Qiang, C.C. Gai, Z.X. Jiang, Z.M. Sun and Q.S. Liu, Global cooling and enhanced Eocene Asian mid-latitude interior aridity, Nature Communications, 9, 3026, 2018.
  • A. Balashova, H.B. Mattsson, A.M. Hirt, New tephrostratigraphic data from Lake Emakat (northern Tanzania): Implications for the eruptive history of the Oldoinyo Lengai volcano, Journal of African Earth Sciences, 147: 374-382, 2018.
  • E.W.N. Støren, Ø. Paasche, A.M. Hirt, M. Kumari, Magnetic and geochemical signatures of flood layers in a lake system, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 17 (10): 4236-4253, 2016.
     
JavaScript has been disabled in your browser