SA13B-3988:
Conjugate Magnetic Observations in the Polar Environments by PRIMO and AUTUMNX
Monday, 15 December 2014
Peter J Chi1, Christopher T Russell2, Robert J Strangeway1, Carol A Raymond3, Martin G Connors4, Terry J Wilson5, David H Boteler6, Kathryn Rowe1 and Ian Schofield4, (1)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (2)Univ California, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (3)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (4)Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB, Canada, (5)Ohio State Univ, Department of Geological Sciences, Columbus, OH, United States, (6)Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Abstract:
While magnetically conjugate observations by ground-based magnetometers are available at both high and low magnetic latitudes, few have been established at auroral latitudes to monitor the hemispheric asymmetry of auroral electric currents and its impact to geospace dynamics. Due to the limitations of global land areas, the only regions where conjugate ground-based magnetic observations can cover the full range of auroral latitudes are between Quebec, Canada and West Antarctica. Funded by the Canadian Space Agency, the AUTUMNX project is currently emplacing 10 ground-based magnetometers in Quebec, Canada, and will provide the magnetic field observations in the Northern Hemisphere. The proposed U.S. Polar Region Interhemispheric Magnetic Observatories (PRIMO) project plans to establish six new ground-based magnetometers in West Antarctica at L-values between 3.9 and 10.1. The instrument is based on the new low-power fluxgate magnetometer system recently developed at UCLA for operation in the polar environments. The PRIMO magnetometers will operate on the power and communications platform well proven by the POLENET project, and the six PRIMO systems will co-locate with existing ANET stations in the region for synergy in logistic support. Focusing on the American longitudinal sector and leveraging infrastructure through international collaborations, PRIMO and AUTUMNX can monitor the intensity and location of auroral electrojets in both hemispheres simultaneously, enabling the first systematic interhemispheric magnetic observations at auroral latitudes.
