Abstract
Our 15-year experience of operating two remote observatories, Ascension and Port Stanley, in the south Atlantic is described. These observatories help monitor the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a region of weak magnetic field which causes considerable problems for spacecraft operators. One-minute and one-second values from these observatories, and other observatories both inside and outside the SAA, are analysed. We investigate whether the SAA, and its growth over time, are having any tangible effect on the observed external field variations. Whilst only able to illustrate the long-term characteristics of the irregular external field related to the solar cycle and not due to any long-term changes in the internal field, we do isolate micropulsation signals at sites inside the SAA which contain more power than at sites outside.
Highlights
Since the early 1990s the British Geological Survey has operated two observatories, Ascension and Port Stanley, in the south Atlantic and as a result has produced near-homogeneous 1minute mean absolute geomagnetic datasets which span about 15 years
With 15 years experience in operating magnetic observatories on Ascension Island and the Falkland Islands, it is clear that operating a magnetic observatory at a remote location is challenging both in terms of engineering and logistics
It is costly in time, money and resources, and it is not surprising that the distribution of observatories in the South Atlantic is sparse or that data from these observatories sometimes contain gaps
Summary
Since the early 1990s the British Geological Survey has operated two observatories, Ascension and Port Stanley, in the south Atlantic and as a result has produced near-homogeneous 1minute mean absolute geomagnetic datasets which span about 15 years. Tively low shielding effect provided by the Earth’s magnetic field In this area, for example, a significantly higher number of so-called single event upsets (SEUs) occur in low earthorbiting satellites (Heirtzler, 2002). For example, a significantly higher number of so-called single event upsets (SEUs) occur in low earthorbiting satellites (Heirtzler, 2002) This area is related to a region of reverse flux at the core mantle boundary beneath the south Atlantic where the magnetic field is directed into the core rather than out, as it is elsewhere in the southern hemisphere (Gubbins and Bloxham, 1985). We look at the high frequency end of the spectrum, analysing pulsation signals from observatories inside and outside the SAA
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