PuffinPlot is a free, cross-platform desktop application specifically designed for the plotting and analysis of paleomagnetic data. Developed in Java by Pontus Lurcock, it provides earth scientists with an integrated environment to process laboratory magnetic measurements from rocks and sediment cores. Core Features
PuffinPlot packages an extensive suite of visualization and calculation capabilities tailored for magnetostratigraphy and geomagnetism:
Multi-Format Data Visualization: Supports essential paleomagnetic plots including Zijderveld orthogonal component diagrams, demagnetization/intensity biplots, Lambert equal-area projection stereonets, and natural remanent magnetization (NRM) histograms.
Advanced Statistical Analysis: Features built-in tools for Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Fisherian statistics, great-circle path intersections, relative paleointensity (RPI) calculation, and inclination-only statistics.
Flexible Data Types: Accommodates both discrete samples (like field cylinders or cubes) and long core/u-channel sediment data.
Dual Operation Modes: Offers a customizable graphical user interface (GUI) for hands-on, interactive workflow alongside an API for bulk batch-processing.
Extensible Scripting: Features a built-in Python scripting engine that interacts directly with open data files and customizes analytical routines.
High-Quality Exports: Saves calculations to standard CSV files and graphics to publication-ready vector formats like SVG and PDF. The PuffinPlot Workflow
The software uses a standardized, hierarchical structure designed to mirror standard laboratory and field collection procedures:
[Suite] ──> Contains the complete study (e.g., a field section or core) │ └──> [Sites] ──> Groups samples from a shared physical point/depth │ └──> [Samples] ──> Represents an individual volume of rock │ └──> [Demagnetization Steps] ──> Interactive measurements
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