College (CMO) Geomagnetic Observatory
Station Id: CMO
Location: Fairbanks, AK
Latitude: 64.68°N
Longitude: 147.86°W
Elevation: 197 meters
Orientation: HDZF
Sections
Background
The Geomagnetic Program, then part of the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, began work in Fairbanks during the Second International Polar Year, 1932-1934, as part of an effort with the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism of the Carnegie Institution. Collaborative work with the University of Alaska began in the 1940’s, with the first full-fledged College observatory commencing operation in 1948. Today, the College observatory is located on the College International Geophysical Observatory (CIGO), a facility established in 1996 through a collaborative effort between the USGS Geomagnetism Program and the University of Alaska. The CIGO is managed by the University’s Geophysical Institute.
Other Operations at CIGO
- A borehole seismometer for the USGS Global Seismic Network
- A seismometer for the Alaskan Tsunami Warning Center
- A small coil-calibration facility developed in collaboration with the University and the USGS
- A magnetometer operated for the Geophysical Institute Magnetometer Array
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
Photos
An Aerial view of College International Geophysical Observatory (CIGO).
A view of the Magnetic Absolutes Building. View of the magnetic absolutes building on the right, note the windows used for theodolite sighting, and the control-GPS building on the left, which houses the data acquisition electronics. The control building is temperature controlled by pulling air through the intake in the middle of the picture, passing it through the permafrost under the ground, and then piping it into the building.
Coil Calibration facility on the College Observatory Site. Jack Townshend, on the left, and Bill Worthington, on the right, next to the newly developed coil-calibration facility on the College observatory site.
Heartland Newspaper Article.
