Measuring Variations in the Earth’s Magnetic Field with a Fluxgate Magnetometer
Document ID: 343
Senior Honors Thesis
1 The Pennsylvania State University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University Park, PA, U.S.A.
Abstract
The Earth's magnetic field is characterized by daily changes in its magnitude. Tue variations in the magnetic field are caused by electrical currents in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The currents are created by the trapping and motion of charged particles in these regions. Tue charged particles are formed by ionizing radiation or are emitted from the sun. Tue fields generated by the motion of these particles are on the order of one percent of the Earth's ambient magnetic field. The magnetic field variations can be classified into two categories. The first category is the quiet variation caused by the daily ionization of the Earth' s atmosphere by solar ultraviolet radiation and the subsequent motion of that charge. Solar heating of the atmosphere causes the charge motion. The second category is the larger changes caused by the fluctuation in the strength of the solar wind associated with solar storms. A three axis fluxgate magnetometer can be used to measure both the regular and irregular changes in the Earth' s magnetic field.
| Citation: | M. D. O'Brien, "Measuring Variations in the Earth’s Magnetic Field with a Fluxgate Magnetometer", The Pennsylvania State University, Senior Honors Thesis, 1992, 34 pages |