The detection of the magnetic fields induced by ocean circulation - An observing system simulation experiment

Abstract

<p>The movement of conductive seawater through Earth's magnetic field leads to electromagnetic induction processes in the oceans. The resulting radial magnetic fields have been successfully modeled and, in the case of tidal-induced magnetic fields, also identified in satellite magnetometer data. However, the magnetic signals caused by ocean circulation have still remained unobserved.<br>We introduce a new method to detect these signals using an observing system simulation experiment. Our approach relies on a Kalman filter-based assimilation of satellite magnetometer data. A key aspect of identifying ocean-induced signals is separating them from other magnetic contributions. For this separation, we used both estimations of the temporal behavior and spatial constraints as prior information. The observing system simulation experiment allows us to evaluate the proposed method.  <br>We present the results of this evaluation and report on the detectability of magnetic fields induced by ocean circulation.</p>