Closing the gap: reducing inter-observatory distance to <300 km across the UK and Ireland

Beggan, C.D.; Reay, S.; Baillie, O.; Huebert, J.; Lyon, R.; Martyn, T.; Parrianen, J.. 2022 Closing the gap: reducing inter-observatory distance to <300 km across the UK and Ireland. [Poster] In: European Space Weather Week, Zagreb, Croatia, 24-28 Oct 2022. (Unpublished)

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Abstract/Summary

Monitoring of the geomagnetic field at high spatial resolution allows small-scale features of the magnetic field to be observed. During geomagnetic storms, fluctuations in the horizontal (north-south and east-west) components become important, particularly if they are rapid, for the generation of secondary induced geoelectric fields in the subsurface. In the UK, the three permanent observatories, Lerwick (Shetland), Eskdalemuir (Dumfries) and Hartland (Devon), run by the British Geological Survey (BGS) provide excellent coverage of the latitudinal variation of the magnetic field, but as they lie along a narrow range of longitudes do not sense variations across the east to west extent of the British Isles. They are also approximately equidistant being around 500 km apart on average. In 2022, BGS installed three semi-permanent variometers in Fermanagh (Northern Ireland), Market Harborough (Leicestershire) and Herstmoncuex (Sussex). These sites were chosen to optimise the spatial distribution and ensure that no location in Britain is more than 300 km from a variometer. The variometers consist of a Sensys three-component fluxgate magnetomer, buried in a barrel for temperature stability, an EarthData Digitiser/Logger running Linux, 4G modem, control electronics, two car batteries for power and a solar panel to charge the batteries. The electronics and batteries are housed in a plastic shed to protect them from the weather. The magnetic field is measured once per second, recorded on the logger and sent back to the BGS across the 4G mobile phone network once every five minutes. We present an overview of the variometers setup, location and example data collected during 2022.

Item Type:	Publication - Conference Item (Poster)
NORA Subject Terms:	Earth Sciences Space Sciences
Date made live:	03 Apr 2023 15:18 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/534301

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