Margaret Avery, PhD
Maggie Avery is a Research Geophysicist with the GMEG Science Center in Moffett Field, CA. She received a doctoral degree in Earth Science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, La Jolla California. Presently, her research focuses on paleomagnetic variations and volcanism in the western U.S.
Maggie Avery is a geophysicist, who focuses on past variations of Earth's magnetic field. She studies methods for tracking these variations and utilizing the magnetization recorded by rocks in interdisciplinary studies of tectonics, volcanism, and Earth's history. She received a bachelor's degree in Physics and Geophysics from SUNY Geneseo in 2009, and a PhD in Earth Science from the University of California, San Diego in 2017. Since joining the USGS in 2021, Maggie has devoted her career to studying geophysics using paleomagnetism for the public good, primarily in the Western U.S.
Professional Experience
2021-present: Research Geophysicist, USGS, Moffett Field
2017-2020: NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Berkeley
2011-2017: Graduate Student Researcher and Teaching Assistant, UCSD
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Earth Science, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 2017
M.S. Earth Science, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, 2014
B.A. Physics, State University of New York at Geneseo, 2009 (Dual Major: Geophysics, Minor: Mathematics)
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union 2011-present
Geological Society of America 2019-present
University of California, San Diego
SUNY Geneseo
Honors and Awards
2017-2019 NSF Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
2008 Sigma Pi Sigma, Physics Honor Society
Science and Products
Signatures of high-latitude waves in observations of geomagnetic acceleration
Models for the second time-derivative of the geomagnetic field reveal prominent activity at high latitudes. Alternating patches of positive and negative geomagnetic acceleration propagate to the west at speeds that exceed nominal fluid velocities in the core. We show that waves are a viable interpretation of these observations. Magnetic Rossby waves produce a high-latitude response with suitable p
Authors
Rodrigo Chi-Duran, Margaret Susan Avery, Bruce Buffett
High geomagnetic field intensity recorded by anorthosite xenoliths requires a strongly powered late Mesoproterozoic geodynamo
Acquiring high-fidelity ancient magnetic field intensity records from rocks is crucial for constraining the long-term evolution of Earth’s core. However, robust estimates of ancient field strengths are often difficult to recover due to alteration or nonideal behavior. We use rocks known as anorthosite that formed in the deep crust and were brought to the near surface where they acquired thermal re
Authors
Yiming Zhang, Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Margaret Susan Avery, Roger R. Fu
A physical interpretation of asymmetric growth and decay of the geomagnetic dipole moment
Observations of relative paleointensity reveal several forms of asymmetry in the time dependence of the virtual axial dipole moment (VADM). Slow decline of the VADM into a reversal is often followed by a more rapid rise back to a quasi-steady state. Asymmetry is also observed in trends of VADM during times of stable polarity. Trends of increasing VADM over time intervals of a few 10s of kyr are mo
Authors
Bruce Buffett, Margaret Susan Avery, William E. Davis
Multidisciplinary constraints on the thermal-chemical boundary between Earth's core and mantle
Heat flux from the core to the mantle provides driving energy for mantle convection thus powering plate tectonics, and contributes a significant fraction of the geothermal heat budget. Indirect estimates of core-mantle boundary heat flow are typically based on petrological evidence of mantle temperature, interpretations of temperatures indicated by seismic travel times, experimental measurements o
Authors
Daniel A. Frost, Margaret Susan Avery, Bruce Buffett, Bethany A. Chidester, Jie Deng, Susannah M. Dorfman, Zhi Li, Lijun Liu, Mingda Lv, Joshua F. Martin
Synchronous emplacement of the anorthosite xenolith-bearing Beaver River diabase and one of the largest lava flows on Earth
New geochronologic and paleomagnetic data from the North American Midcontinent Rift (MCR) reveal the synchronous emplacement of the Beaver River diabase, the anorthosite xenoliths within it, and the Greenstone Flow—one of the largest lava flows on Earth. A U-Pb zircon date of 1091.83 0.21 Ma (2) from one of the anorthosite xenoliths is consistent with the anorthosite cumulate forming as part of t
Authors
Yiming Zhang, Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Mark D. Schmitz, James D. Jr. Miller, Margaret Susan Avery
The paleogeography of Laurentia in its early years: New constraints from the Paleoproterozoic East-Central Minnesota batholith
The ca. 1.83 Ga Trans-Hudson orogeny resulted from collision of an upper plate consisting of the Hearne, Rae, and Slave provinces with a lower plate consisting of the Superior province. While the geologic record of ca. 1.83 Ga peak metamorphism within the orogen suggests that these provinces were a single amalgamated craton from this time onward, a lack of paleomagnetic poles from the Superior pro
Authors
Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Margaret Susan Avery, Yiming Zhang, Eben B. Hodgin, Robert J. Sherwood, Francisco E. Apen, Terrence J. Boerboom, C. Brenhin Keller, John M. Cottle
Gravity, aeromagnetic, magnetic potential, and physical property data of the Bartlett Springs fault zone and surrounding areas, California
This data release contains principal facts of gravity measurements collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2020-2022, a compilation of existing and new density and magnetic susceptibility data, and gridded magnetic and magnetic potential data of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone and surrounding areas, northern California. These data support modeling of gravity and magnetic anomalies to characte
Science and Products
Signatures of high-latitude waves in observations of geomagnetic acceleration
Models for the second time-derivative of the geomagnetic field reveal prominent activity at high latitudes. Alternating patches of positive and negative geomagnetic acceleration propagate to the west at speeds that exceed nominal fluid velocities in the core. We show that waves are a viable interpretation of these observations. Magnetic Rossby waves produce a high-latitude response with suitable p
Authors
Rodrigo Chi-Duran, Margaret Susan Avery, Bruce Buffett
High geomagnetic field intensity recorded by anorthosite xenoliths requires a strongly powered late Mesoproterozoic geodynamo
Acquiring high-fidelity ancient magnetic field intensity records from rocks is crucial for constraining the long-term evolution of Earth’s core. However, robust estimates of ancient field strengths are often difficult to recover due to alteration or nonideal behavior. We use rocks known as anorthosite that formed in the deep crust and were brought to the near surface where they acquired thermal re
Authors
Yiming Zhang, Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Margaret Susan Avery, Roger R. Fu
A physical interpretation of asymmetric growth and decay of the geomagnetic dipole moment
Observations of relative paleointensity reveal several forms of asymmetry in the time dependence of the virtual axial dipole moment (VADM). Slow decline of the VADM into a reversal is often followed by a more rapid rise back to a quasi-steady state. Asymmetry is also observed in trends of VADM during times of stable polarity. Trends of increasing VADM over time intervals of a few 10s of kyr are mo
Authors
Bruce Buffett, Margaret Susan Avery, William E. Davis
Multidisciplinary constraints on the thermal-chemical boundary between Earth's core and mantle
Heat flux from the core to the mantle provides driving energy for mantle convection thus powering plate tectonics, and contributes a significant fraction of the geothermal heat budget. Indirect estimates of core-mantle boundary heat flow are typically based on petrological evidence of mantle temperature, interpretations of temperatures indicated by seismic travel times, experimental measurements o
Authors
Daniel A. Frost, Margaret Susan Avery, Bruce Buffett, Bethany A. Chidester, Jie Deng, Susannah M. Dorfman, Zhi Li, Lijun Liu, Mingda Lv, Joshua F. Martin
Synchronous emplacement of the anorthosite xenolith-bearing Beaver River diabase and one of the largest lava flows on Earth
New geochronologic and paleomagnetic data from the North American Midcontinent Rift (MCR) reveal the synchronous emplacement of the Beaver River diabase, the anorthosite xenoliths within it, and the Greenstone Flow—one of the largest lava flows on Earth. A U-Pb zircon date of 1091.83 0.21 Ma (2) from one of the anorthosite xenoliths is consistent with the anorthosite cumulate forming as part of t
Authors
Yiming Zhang, Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Mark D. Schmitz, James D. Jr. Miller, Margaret Susan Avery
The paleogeography of Laurentia in its early years: New constraints from the Paleoproterozoic East-Central Minnesota batholith
The ca. 1.83 Ga Trans-Hudson orogeny resulted from collision of an upper plate consisting of the Hearne, Rae, and Slave provinces with a lower plate consisting of the Superior province. While the geologic record of ca. 1.83 Ga peak metamorphism within the orogen suggests that these provinces were a single amalgamated craton from this time onward, a lack of paleomagnetic poles from the Superior pro
Authors
Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Margaret Susan Avery, Yiming Zhang, Eben B. Hodgin, Robert J. Sherwood, Francisco E. Apen, Terrence J. Boerboom, C. Brenhin Keller, John M. Cottle
Gravity, aeromagnetic, magnetic potential, and physical property data of the Bartlett Springs fault zone and surrounding areas, California
This data release contains principal facts of gravity measurements collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2020-2022, a compilation of existing and new density and magnetic susceptibility data, and gridded magnetic and magnetic potential data of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone and surrounding areas, northern California. These data support modeling of gravity and magnetic anomalies to characte
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government