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Customers

The USGS Geomagnetism Program serves a diverse set of customers who use observatory data for both practical on-going operations and basic research. Following is a partial but representative listing of current and recent customers of the Program and users of its data products, along with a brief summary of their operational responsibilities and/or research. Also provided here are some selected publications and links, together with a three-letter IAGA code [XXX] listing of the USGS observatories used for those specific works.

Customers

• 

  The Space Environment Center (SEC) and the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Boulder, Colorado: Real-time and definitive Geomagnetism Program data are used for study and forecasting of space-weather conditions. On a routine basis, the SEC and the US Air Force (see below) diagnose magnetic-field activity by calculating the K and Kp indices every three hours (Mayaud 1980; Rangarajan, 1989). These calculations utilize data that the USGS collects at several of its observatories (BOU, FRN, FRD, NEW, and SIT), and which it receives via satellite from Canada (MEA, OTT, and STJ) and via land line from the United Kingdom (HAD). As an example, the indices formed an important part of SEC's response to the potentially deleterious affects caused by rapid field variations during the magnetic storm of October-November 2003.

  • Balch, C., Murtagh, B., Zezula, D., Combs, L., Nelson, G., Tegnell, K., Crown, M. & McGehan, B., 2004. Service Assessment: Intense Space Weather Storms October 19 - November 07, 2003, US Dept. Commerce, NOAA, Silver Spring, MD, 1-49. [BOU, FRD, FRN, NEW, SIT]

  Additionally, SEC computes K indices and their world-wide daily averages, planetary A indices, using a mixture of foreign observatories (CLF, Kerguelen, LRM, WNG, including three USGS observatories (BOU, CMO, FRD):

  • Magnetometer K and A-index daily report. [BOU, CMO, FRD]

  An important index for measuring the large-scale behavior of the magnetosphere, and specifically the equatorial ring current, during magnetic storms is Dst (Mayaud 1980; Rangarajan, 1989). The calculation of this index relies on four low-magnetic-latitude observatories, including two USGS observatories (HON and SJG). Dst is used for normal operational diagnostics of the status of magnetic field activity, but it also continues to be the subject of on-going research; see, for example this paper by an NGDC author:

  • Maus, S. & Weidelt, P., 2004. Separating the magnetospheric disturbance magnetic field into external and transient internal contributions using a 1D conductivity model of the Earth, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L12614, doi:10.1029/2004GL020232. [HON, SJG]

  Researchers at the NGDC use satellite and ground-based magnetic observatory data to construct the World Magnetic Model (WMM) of the internal part of the Earth's magnetic field, a product that has numerous applications and which is funded by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the UK Defence Geographic Imagery and Intelligence Agency:

  • McLean, S., Macmillan, S., Maus, S., Lesur, V., Thomson, A. & Dater, D., 2005. The US/UK World Magnetic Model for 2005-2010, NOAA Technical Report NESDIS/NGDC-1. [BOU, BRW, BSL, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
• 

  The United States Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska: Real-time Geomagnetism Program data are used for study and forecasting of space-weather conditions. As discussed above, on a routine basis, AFWA and the SEC diagnose magnetic-field activity by calculating the K and Kp indices (Mayaud 1980; Rangarajan, 1989). Part of this important on-going operational responsibility includes regular magnetometer reports:

  • Hourly report of magnetometer K-index summary and hourly report.
    [BOU, FRN, FRD, NEW, SIT]
  • Daily report of magnetometer K-index summary and daily report.
    [BOU, FRN, FRD, NEW, SIT]
• 

  Researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) use satellite and ground-based magnetic observatory data to construct models of the internal and external parts of the Earth's magnetic field, a product that has numerous applications for research and on-going operations.

  • Sabaka, T.J., Olsen,N. & Langel, R.A., 2002. A comprehensive model of the quiet-time, near-Earth magnetic field: Phase 3, Geophys. J. Int., 151, 32-68. doi:10.1046/j.1365-246X.2002.01774.x. [BOU, BRW, BSL, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Sabaka, T., Olsen, N. & Purucker, M., 2004. Extending Comprehensive Models of the Earth's magnetic field with Oersted and CHAMP data, Geophys. J. Int., 159, 521-547. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02421.x. [BOU, BRW, BSL, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]

  Additional work at Goddard, related to that at UCLA (described below) is concerned with using linear filter theory to predict the Dst index (Mayaud 1980; Rangarajan, 1989), a fundamental measure of the strength of the equatorial ring current during magnetic storms.

  • Klimas, A. J., Vassiliadis, D. & Baker, D. N., 1998. Dst index prediction using data-derived analogues of the magnetospheric dynamics, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 20435-20447. doi:10.1029/98JA01559. [HON, SJG]
  • Vassiliadis, D., Klimas, Valdivia, J. A. & Baker, D. N., 1999. The Dst geomagnetic response as a function of storm phase and amplitude and the solar wind electric field, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 24957-24976. doi:10.1029/1999JA900185. [HON, SJG]
• 

  The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

• 

  Researchers at the UCLA Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics conduct fundamental research into the nature and behavior of the Earth's magnetosphere. Much of this work, particularly of the substorm recovery stage of large magnetic storms, relies upon ground-based magnetograms provided by the USGS Geomagnetism Program, and indices that are derived from those data.

  • McPherron, R. L., 1995. Magnetospheric dynamics, in Introduction to Space Physics (eds. M. G. Kivelson & C. T. Russell), pp. 400-458, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK. [BRW, CMO, GUA, HON, SJG, TUC]

  Additional work at UCLA, related to that at Goddard (described above) is concerned with using linear filter theory to predict the Dst index (Mayaud 1980; Rangarajan, 1989), a fundamental measure of the strength of the equatorial ring current during magnetic storms.

  • O'Brien, T. P. & McPherron, R. L., 2000. An empirical phase-space analysis of ring current dynamics: solar wind control of injection and decay, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 7707-7719. doi:10.1029/1998JA000437. [HON, SJG]
• 
  • Waddington, R., Gubbins, D. & Barber, N., 1995. Geomagnetic field analysis - V. Determining steady core-surface flows directly from geomagnetic observations, Geophys. J. Int., 122, 326-350. [BOU, BSL, BRW, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Jonkers, A. R. T., Jackson, A. & Murray, A., 2003. Four centuries of geomagnetic data from historical sources, Rev. Geophys, 41, 1006, 2:1-37 doi:10.1029/2002RG000115. [BOU, BSL, BRW, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
• 
  • Constable, C. G., Parker, R. L. & Stark, P. B., 1993. Geomagnetic field models incorporating frozen-flux constraints, Geophys. J. Int., 113, 419-433. [BOU, BSL, BRW, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Constable, S., 1993. Constraints on mantle electrical conductivity from field and laboratory measurements, J. Geomag. Geoelectr., 45, 707-728. [FRD, HON, SJG, TUC]
• 
  • Olsen, N., 1996. A new tool for determining ionospheric currents from magnetic satellite data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 23, 3635-3638. doi:10.1029/96GL02896. [BRW, CMO, HON, SJG]
    
  • Olsen, N. & Kuvshinov, A. V., 2004. Modeling the ocean effect of geomagnetic storms, Earth Planets Space, 56, 525-530. [BSL, FRD, FRN, NEW]

• The College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences of Oregon State University (OSU): Magnetic and electric potential data from the Tucson observatory collected from 1932-1942 have been used to estimate the electrical conductivity of the Earth's crust and mantle.

  • Egbert, G. D. & Booker, J. R., 1992. Very long period magnetotellurics at Tucson Observatory: Implications for mantle conductivity, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 15099-15112. [TUC]
  • Egbert, G. D., Booker, J. R. & Schultz, A., 1992. Very long period magnetotellurics at Tucson Observatory: Estimation of Impedances, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 15113-15128. [TUC]
• 

  The Geomagnetism Program of the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in Ottawa: USGS Geomagnetism Program data are used for space-weather and main-field research and applications. Specific recent work includes an examination of a magnetic storm in 1972 that caused a electric power outage in the United States, and a storm in 1989 that caused a major electric power outage in Quebec and associated problems in the Northeastern United States:

  • Boteler, D. H. & van Beek, G. J., 1999. August 4, 1972 revisited: A new look at the geomagnetic disturbance that caused the L4 cable system outage, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 577-580. doi:10.1029/1999GL900035. [BOU, CMO, FRD, NEW, TUC]
  • Boteler, D. H., 2001. Space weather effects on power systems, in Space Weather (eds. P. Song, H. J. Singer & G. L. Siscoe), pp. 347-352, Am. Geophys. Union; Geophys. Monograph 22, Washington, DC. [BOU, BRW, BSL, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, NEW, TUC]
• 

  The Geomagnetism Program of the British Geological Survey (BGS) in Edinburgh: USGS Geomagnetism Program data are used for large-scale modelling of the Earth's magnetic field for purposes of both main-field and space-weather related research and applications.

  • Lesur, V., Macmillan, S. & Thomson, A., 2005. A magnetic field model with daily variations of the magnetospheric field and its induced counterpart in 2001, Geophys. J. Int., 160, 79-88. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02479.x [BOU, BRW, BSL, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Thomson, A. W. P., 2000. Improving the modelling of the geomagnetic main-field: Isolating the average ionospheric field in satellite data, Earth Planets Space, 52, 1199-1206. [BRW, CMO, SIT]
• 
  • Bellanger, E., Fatma, A., Le Mouel, J. L. & Mandea, M., 2003. The irregular variations of the external geomagnetic field from Intermagnet data, Earth Planets Space, 55, 173-181. [BRW, GUA, HON, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Le Huy, M., Alexandrescu, M., Hulot, G. & Le Mouel, J. L., 1998. On the characteristics of successive magnetic jerks, Earth Planets Space, 50, 723-732. [BOU, BRW, BSL, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Hulot, G., Le Huy, M. & Le Mouel, J. L., 1993. Secouses (jerks) de la variation seculaire et mouvements dans le noyau terrestre, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Serie II, 317, 333-341. [BRW, CMO, FRD, GUA, HON, SIT, SJG, TUC]
• 
  • Weiss, C. J. & Everett, M. E., 1998. Geomagnetic induction in a heterogeneous sphere: fully three-dimensional test computations and the response of a realistic distribution of oceans and continents, Geophys. J. Int., 135, 650-662. doi:10.1046/j.1365-246X.2003.01906.x [BOU, BRW, CMO, FRD, HON, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Velimsky, J. & Everett, M. E., 2004. Electromagnetic induction by Sq ionospheric currents in a heterogeneous Earth: modeling using ground--based and satellite measurements, in Earth Observation with CHAMP: Results from Three Years in Orbit, (eds. C. Reigber, H. Luhr, P. Schwintzer & J. Wickerts) pp. 341-347, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany. [BOU, BSL, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SJG, TUC]
• 

  World Data Center (WDC) and the Solar-Planetary Electromagnetism Laboratory of the Kyoto University, Japan: USGS Geomagnetism Program data for a wide variety of applications, including basic reasearch into space physics; here we provide two examples of field-aligned current studies of importance to understanding they dynamics of magnetic storms:

  • Nakano, S., Iyemori, T. & Yamashita, S., 2002. Net field-aligned currents controlled by the polar ionospheric conductivity, J. Geophys. Res., 107, SMP 4:1-6. doi:10.1029/2001JA900177. [BOU]
  • Yamashita, S. & Iyemori, T., 2002. Seasonal and local time dependences of the interhemispheric field-aligned currents deduced from the Oersted satellite and the ground geomagnetic observations, J. Geophys. Res., 107, 1372, SIA 11:1-10. doi:10.1029/2002JA009414. [GUA, HON, SJG]

  Additionally, research at Kyoto is also conducted into the nature of the Earth's deep interior, as an example:

  • Nagao, H., Iyemori, T. Higuchi, T. & Araki, T., 2003. Lower mantle conductivity anomalies estimated from geomagnetic jerks, J. Geophys. Res., 108, 2254, EPM 8:1-18. doi:10.1029/2002JB001786. [BOU, FRD, GUA, HON, NEW, SJG, TUC]

  And, finally, USGS data are used by the WDC for on-going operational reports of space-weather conditions, principly through the calculation and reporting of magnetic-field activity indices:
  

  • Web-based tool. [BRW, CMO for AE; HON, SJG for Dst]
• 

  The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan: USGS Geomagnetism Program data are used to calculate real-time AE and Dst indices for the Japanese space weather program; see also related efforts by the WDC of Kyoto. The magnetic indices, and plots of USGS and other observatory and magnetometer data are available at:

  • Web-based tool. [BRW, CMO for AE; HON, SJG for Dst; GUA plots]
• 
  • Tsunomura, S., 1998. Characteristics of geomagnetic sudden commencements observed in middle and low latitudes, Earth Planets Space, 50, 755-772. [BOU, BSL, BRW, CMO, DLR, FRD, GUA, HON, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
  • Fujii, I. & Schultz, A., 2002. The 3D electromagnetic response of the Earth to ring current and auroral oval excitation, Geophys. J. Int., 151, 689-709. doi:10.1046/j.1365-246X.2002.01775.x. [BOU, BSL, BRW, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC]
• 

  International Service of Geomagnetic Indices (ISGI) in Paris, France: Geomagnetism Program data are used for the production of indices for measuring magnetic activity.

  • Menvielle, M. & Berthelier, A., 1991. The K-derived planetary indices: description and availability, Rev. Geophys., 29, 415-432. [FRD, TUC, SIT]
• 

  GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) in Potsdam, Germany: USGS Geomagnetism Program data from are used for production of indices measuring magnetic activity and for the determination of international quiet and disturbed days.

  • Website for Kp index reports. [FRD, SIT]

  Additionally, basic research is conducted at GFZ into the nature of the Earth's magnetic field. Here we provide an example of how observatory data can be used to estimate the electrical conductivity of the mantle, an important issue for understanding the composition and dynamics of the Earth's deep interior:

  • Alexandrescu (a.k.a. Mandea), M., Gibert, D., Le Mouel, J. L., Hulot, G., Saracco, G., 1999. An estimate of average lower mantle conductivity by wavelet analysis of geomagnetic jerks, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 17735-17745. [FRD, SIT, SJG, TUC]
• 

  International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) committee of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA): The IGRF is used for numerous applications, ranging from inavigation and orientation to pure and applied research. The model is based, in part, on data supplied by the world-wide array of geomagnetic observatories, including those of the USGS. For reference see the following special publications:

  • Mandea, M., Macmillan, S. & Lowes, F. J. (eds), 2000. Geomagnetic Field Modelling and IGRF, Earth Planets Space, 52, 1117-1233. [BOU, BSL, BRW, CMO, DLR, FRD, FRN, GUA, HON, MID, NEW, SIT, SJG, TUC] For on-line articles in this special issue, go to this link and click on volume 12. There you will find several articles that us USGS observatory data.

References

• Mayaud, P. N., 1980. Derivation, Meaning, and Use of Geomagnetic Indices, Am. Geophys. Union; Geophys. Monograph 22, Washington DC, 1-154.
• Rangarajan, G. K., 1989. Indices of geomagnetic activity, in Geomagnetism, 3 (ed. J. A. Jacobs), pp. 323-384, Academic Press, London.

Looking for your link?

Contact:
Jeffrey J. Love
Geomagnetism Group Leader
jlove@usgs.gov