For information on becoming a registered user of the NGF, which gives you access to web forms for reserving equipment, permission to post your own content on forums, and access to non-public spaces on the NGF site, please email a request to join to:

ngf <<at sign>> coas.oregonstate.edu

The NGF loans electromagnetic geophysics instruments to academic scientists, industry and government. It is not necessary to be an EM specialist to use NGF instruments. If you would like NGF staff to acquire and process and/interpret EM data for you, we can provide this service as well. Three electromagnetic instrument pools are operated by the NGF at Oregon State University on behalf of the scientific community. The NGF is currently managing nearly 90 long-period, wideband and ultra wideband instruments. These form the following instrument groups:

Ultra-Wideband Instrument Pool: The NGF is has completed development and construction of the first set of 26 new generation flexible, ultra-wideband EM geophysics data acquisition systems, through a collaboration between Oregon State University and Zonge International, Inc. Please see the description of the Zonge Zen Rx6 system, found through the "NGF Request/Info" links to the left. These instruments are available to any academic, industry or government users.

General Purpose Long-Period MT Instrument Pool: 25 1-Hz sample rate Narod Geophysics NIMS MT instruments, originally developed by the University of Washington and Narod Geophysics are available to investigators working anywhere in the world. Please contact the NGF for information on the cost schedule for accessing NIMS instruments. We have also recently taken over responsibility for the former Canadian POLARIS MT instruments, which are NIMS systems functionally equivalent to our existing pool. These are presently being upgraded and will be made available primarily for EarthScope but also for other project use. When these instruments have been fully integrated into the NGF pool, we will have approximately 90 land-based MT instruments available.

EarthScope Instrument Pool: The NSF EarthScope Program's USArray MT instrument facility comprises 22 transportable long-period NIMS MT instruments, functionally identical to the 25 instruments in the general purpose pool, as well as one LEMI 417 long period MT instrument, and 7 permanently-installed long-period Backbone station MT instruments. We are in the process of converting the permanently-installed instruments into transportable instruments, and plan to operate 7 additional NIMS transportable instruments as part of a long-term load agreement with the University of Manitoba. EarthScope instruments are intended for use by EarthScope funded investigators.

Other equipment: The NGF also can provide field support equipment (field computers, software), Pb-PbCl2 gel-style electrodes, and other equipment you might need to conduct your experiment/survey. Oregon State University also has capabilities in marine magnetotellurics and controlled source electromagnetics, as well as ocean bottom seismic instrumentation. Please contact the NGF if your requirements extend beyond the shoreline.

Please use the NGF Equipment Request Form found under the "NGF Request/Info" links to the left, to register your interest in using NGF instruments, EarthScope instruments, or general purpose MT pool instruments. The NGF encourages submission of these forms for planning purposes (for projects that are not yet funded), as well as for those with firm requirements and specific dates Please submit your requests as early in the planning process as possible, to guarantee instrument availability when you need it, even if one or two years in advance of firm funding. The NGF operates a first-come first-served schedule priority system, so if you are planning a future EM investigation that may require NGF instruments, please be proactive and make your requests now rather than later. Please don't wait until your funding is firmed up. This is essential to the NGFs own planning process.

Costs. There may be costs to access the NGF and general purpose MT instruments, in which case you may include the cost schedule as a supplemental document in your grant application/proposal to your funding agency. Please contact the NGF (see "Contact us!" link on this page) for an up-to-date copy of the cost schedule, which is subject to change depending on NSF policy. EarthScope investigators should also contact the EarthScope Program directors at the National Science Foundation to make them aware of your requirements. There is no direct cost to EarthScope investigators seeking to use EarthScope instruments.

Education and Technical Assistance. Training in the use of the NGF equipment is available, either at Oregon State University, or at your institution or field location. Field technical support is also available to assist you in your project, as required.

NSF Support. This NGF has been made possible through work supported by the National Science Foundation under Major Research Instrumentation Grant No. 0960342. Funding for this award was made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.