Contact: zain.eris.kamal@rutgers.edu

 

Since December 2021, I've been analyzing (1) the history of the Martian dynamo and (2) formation time/depth of crustal magnetic sources via impact craters.

I'd like to express gratitude to my primary advisor, Professor Lujendra Ojha, for guiding me throughout this project.

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Summary:

Our work is the first to systematically search all medium-size Martian craters (>70 km diameter) for crustal magnetization signatures using high-resolution MAVEN magnetometer data. Our two main conclusions are:

1. The rarity of demagnetization implies magnetic sources are deeply buried, suggesting that magnetization formed at the same time as primordial crust.
2. The demagnetization of Henry crater strongly suggests the dynamo ceased by 3.6 Ga.

But on that second point, why is such a small crater (167 km diameter) one of the MOST demagnetized (non-major) craters on Mars? Our new focus is on investigating the causal factors of impact-induced demagnetization, which could help us constrain:

• Crustal formation mechanisms,
• Early basal heating / heat flow rates,
• Threshold demagnetization pressures/temperatures,
• Crustal thickness/density quantities,
• GRS elemental concentration uncertainties, etc.

 

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Presentations:

• Manuscript in review.

  • Google Drive (pdf)

• April 2023: World Congress for Undergraduate Research, oral presentation.

  • Recording (Youtube)

• March 2023: Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference, poster presentation.

  • Landing page (GitHub); Poster (pdf, png).

• December 2022: American Geophysical Union Fall 2022 conference, oral presentation.

  • Recording (YouTube); Abstract citation (page); Slides + more info (page)

• Summer 2022: NASA New Jersey Space Grant Consortium, Fellowship Grant.

  • Poster (pdf, png); writeup (pdf).