THE REDUCTION OF GEOMAGNETIC DATA FOR THE TERRITORY OF LATVIA TO THE EPOCH 2021.5

Abstract

The article describes the sources of geomagnetic data, the reduction of geomagnetic data for the territory of Latvia to the epoch 2021.5, the history of previous magnetic observations in Latvia, the information available in the State Geodetic Network database and the information available in the World Geomagnetism Data Centre. The sequence of absolute measurements is described in detail. To visualise the changes in the magnetic declination value in the territory of Latvia, a 2021.5 year declination fluctuation has been created using ArcGIS Pro. The declination values in Latvia range from 6.68° to 10°, the inclination values range from 71.089° to 72.245° and the total magnetic field values from 51100 nT to 52594 nT. The values obtained for the magnetic field components refer to a magnetically clean environment, and there can be, and are, differences in the natural conditions in the Latvian territory, in natural anomalous locations and in locations with artificially high magnetic field noise (e.g. in cities, near railways, near high voltage lines, etc.). In the Latvian network, points have been selected in locations where the magnetic noise is minimal, as this is the technological process for building such stations. Magnetic observatories are even stricter, so the data coming from the observatories reflect the natural magnetic field without the influence of magnetic anomalies. The reduced magnetic field values and their representation on a map can be used for aeronautical navigation, military applications, identification of local magnetic anomaly sites or search for magnetically clean environments.