Our understanding of the past behavior of the geomagnetic field arises from magnetic signals stored in geological materials. Bulk rock samples, however, often contain magnetic grains that differ in chemistry, size and shape; that have different recording properties. The presence of a small amount of adversely behaved magnetic grains in a sample may already obscure important information on the past state of the geomagnetic field.
A new technique, Micromagnetic Tomography (MMT), aims to determine magnetic moments of individual grains in a sample by combining X-ray computed tomography and magnetic surface scanning measurements. When successful, this would open up new avenues in paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic research. Determining the magnetic moments of individual grains in a nondestructive way would allow for a systematic analysis of how geological materials record and retain information on the past state of the Earth's magnetic field. Moreover, by interpreting only the contributions of known magnetically well-behaved grains in a sample MMT has the potential to unlock paleomagnetic information from even the most complex, crucial, or valuable recorders that current methods are unable to recover.
Here, I will discuss the current abilities and limitations of MMT. First I will give a general introduction to the technique; followed by a number of applications of MMT that we are currently working on. Finally, I will discuss the potential and the development of MMT in the near future.