Magnetometry Missions During the ''International Decade of Geopotential Field Research'': Results, Opportunities, and Challenges.
Abstract
The launch of the Danish Satellite Oersted in February 1999 initiated a new era of scientific opportunities regarding geopotential field research. The Oersted satellite provided the first high-precision geomagnetic measurements since the NASA satellite MAGSAT in 1980. In July 2000 the German satellite, CHAMP, providing both high precision geomagnetic and gravity measurements was launched and it was followed by the launch in November of the Argentinean satellite, SAC-C, also equipped with high-precision magnetometer instruments. The expected scientific return of these missions and the possibility of achieving a long and uninterrupted series of high precision measurements led to the proposal of establishing an “International Decade of Geopotential Field Research”. This was achieved by the adoption of a resolution by the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics at its General Assembly in 1999 and has been followed up by various scientific sessions at other international conferences. Numerous scientific results of these missions have provided important new knowledge about the Earth’s magnetic field. The new geomagnetic field models are named IDEMM after this international effort and have already created a wealth of new scientific opportunities for the whole science community. New and advanced algorithms have been developed to benefit from the existence of simultaneous observations from different satellites in the near Earth space. The endeavour of the international scientific community in advancing geomagnetic science has resulted in the selection by ESA for an industrial phase A study in 2003 of the proposal, SWARM, submitted to the Earth Explorer Opportunity Missions Programme. This mission consists of a dedicated magnetic field satellite constellation of four satellites to study the dynamics of the Earth’s magnetic field and its interaction with the Earth system.
- Publication:
-
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly
- Pub Date:
- April 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003EAEJA.....4268F