Andreas Nilsson

Research

The Earth's magnetic field is generated by fluid motions in the outer core (the geodynamo). The field varies dramatically on a wide range of timescales (e.g. years, decades, centuries, millennia). By studying geomagnetic field variations at the Earth's surface we can learn more about the deep Earth where the field is generated. Thus surface measurements, and models derived from them, provide a window in to the deep Earth. Records of geomagnetic field variations can also be used to relatively date geologic and archaeological archives and even to infer past changes in the Sun’s magnetic field (“solar activity”), exploiting their combined influence on atmospheric production of cosmogenic radionuclides. Reconstructions of Earth’s magnetic field prior to the record of historic observations are reliant on measurements on archaeologic (e.g. ceramics) and/or geologic (e.g. volcanic rocks, sediments) material that are able to record the ambient magnetic field at the time of their formation/manufacturing, the study of archaeo-/palaeomagnetism. My research is focused on obtaining new palaeomagnetic data from strategic locations on Earth and to develop new millennial-scale geomagnetic field models to answer questions about geomagnetic field characteristics and underlying core dynamics.