Barrow (BRW) Geomagnetic Observatory
Station Id: BRW
Location: Point Barrow, AK
Latitude: 71.32°N
Longitude: 156.62°W
Elevation: 12 meters
Orientation: HDZF
Sections
Background
The Barrow magnetic observatory was established in 1949, with major upgrades in 1957 associated with the International Geophysical Year. The current physical plant was put into place in 1975. The observatory is of particular importance to the Geomagnetism Program because it is the most northerly of all the USGS observatories, being located well within the auroral oval. The observatory is operated with the cooperative assistance of the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory of NOAA.
Customers
- The Space Environment Center of NOAA in Boulder.
- The United States Air Force Weather Agency at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.
- The International Service of Geophysical Indices.
- The Kyoto World Data Center.
- Academic, governmental, and private scientists engaged in pure and applied work.
Publications
- Townshend, J., 2001. Fifty years of monitoring geophysical data at Barrow, Alaska, Fifty more years below zero, Ed: Norton, D. W., The Arctic Institute of North America, University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks, 61-64.
- Worthington, E. W. & Love, J. J., 2002. Geomagnetic field monitoring at Barrow, Alaska, Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, NOAA, US Dept. Commerce, 26, 166-170.
Photos
The Barrow Magnetometer Building.
The Electronics and Utility Buildings at Barrow.
The Architecture of the Instrument and Absolute Piers. Because of the difficulty in establishing a firm anchoring in permafrost, the elaborate architecture of the instrument and absolute piers is of particular note.
