Geoelectromagnetism and the changing Earth

Abstract

The paper describes research in geomagnetism and aeronomy carried out in the framework of a project organized by the Geodetic and Geophysical Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It includes the development of the instrumentation of the Nagycenk Geophysical Observatory (geomagnetic measuring systems, ionosonde), moreover other instrumental and methodological developments, too. Observatory data are available in a database. Based on results of the Nagycenk and Tihany observatories and on data of permanent and temporal networks, long-term trends of different electromagnetic parameters were investigated. Thus geomagnetic activity was found secularly increasing, a decrease of the atmospheric electric potential gradient and a 11-year modulation of the winter/December attenuation of the geomagnetic pulsation activity were confirmed. Several possibilities (pulsations, whistlers, modelling) were used to improve knowledge about structure and parameters of the magnetosphere. Electromagnetic precursors of earthquakes were looked for. A significant increase of understanding was obtained in connection with Schumann resonances and electromagnetic transients caused by lightning. It was shown that see-coasts influence characteristically changes in ionospheric trends (hmF2). When looking for the effect of the global climate changes in the subsurface electric resistivity, an example was discovered for the decrease of the resistivity due to infiltrating water from precipitation. Electromagnetic exploration of tectonically conditioned weak zones was continued, too.