NH11B-1906
AUTUMNX: a real-time dense magnetometer array for northern Quebec
Monday, 14 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Ian Schofield1, Martin G Connors1, Christopher T Russell2, Peter J Chi3 and Najat Bhiry4, (1)Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB, Canada, (2)University of California Los Angeles, IGPP/EPSS, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (3)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (4)Université Laval, Centre d’études nordiques (CEN), Québec, QC, Canada
Abstract:
Ground-based real time monitoring of geomagnetic conditions over eastern Canada has in the past been hampered by the low density of magnetometer coverage in northern Quebec. Between September 2014 and July 2015, Athabasca University conducted three field campaigns to roll out a 10-station magnetometer network across northern Quebec. Called AUTUMNX, the network is primarily structured along two meridional chains to provide maximal auroral zone coverage in eastern North America, and where possible, take advantage of the magnetic conjugal relationships with Antarctica and the GOES East geostationary weather satellite. The array began producing 10-second real-time data product reliably since July 2015 after improvements to network equipment at select sites in the spring of 2015. Overall, the array has been producing full resolution 2-Hz data on 1-hour delay from most sites since network roll out in November 2014 through the AUTUMNX data portal and through THEMIS SPEDAS. With stable real-time telemetry now flowing, AUTUMNX is ready to play an important role in reporting local space weather conditions leading to geomagnetic induced currents (GICs), which we have been able to link to reported harmonic distortion in the Hydro-Québec power grid.
