Geomagnetism
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We monitor the Earth's magnetic field. Using ground-based observatories, we provide continuous records of magnetic field variations; disseminate magnetic data to various governmental, academic, and private institutions; and conduct research into the nature of geomagnetic variations for purposes of scientific understanding and hazard mitigation.
Keeping the Lights On in North America
Realtime geoelectric maps during a magnetic storm can assist utility companies with their operations and can help power-grid managers to make decisions that may minimize the impact to their systems.
Read the story.Risk of Once-Per-Century Geomagnetic Superstorm in NE United States
A new report and map published by the U.S. Geological Survey provides critical insight to electric power grid operators across the northeastern United States in the event of a once-per-century magnetic superstorm.
Read the story.Auroras and Earthquakes: Strange Companions
In a win-win situation for both seismologists and space physicists, a cheap magnetometer at a seismic station can result in better seismic data for earthquakes and also more geomagnetic data in real time for monitoring space weather.
Read the story.News
Down to Earth: Complexities of Geology Affect Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Hazard
Geoelectric hazards generated by a nuclear explosion at the outer edge of Earth’s atmosphere can be strongly affected by the electrical conductivity of rock structures beneath the Earth's surface, according to a study led by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Monitor newsletter - Vol. 3 | Issue Summer 2021
In this issue: ShakeAlert for the West Coast, 2021 hurricane season, Barry Arm, Alaska landslide monitoring, research during COVID-19, and more.
The Monitor newsletter - Vol. 2 | Issue Spring 2021
In this issue: When will Mauna Loa next Erupt?, ShakeOut rollout to the Pacific Northwest, Big Sur Landslides, new storymaps for earthquakes and wildfire science, expanding coverage of the "Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast" tools, New Reducing Risk 2021 projects, and more.
Publications
Geomagnetic monitoring in the mid-Atlantic United States
Near historic battlegrounds of the American Civil War, southeast of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on a secluded grassy glade surrounded by forest, a specially designed observatory records the Earth’s changing magnetic field. This facility, the Fredericksburg Magnetic Observatory, is 1 of 14 observatories the U.S. Geological Survey Geomagnetism Program...
Love, Jeffrey J.; Lewis, Kristen A.
Electrical conductivity of the lithosphere-asthenosphere system
Electromagnetic geophysical methods image the electrical conductivity of the subsurface. Electrical conductivity is an intrinsic material property that is sensitive to temperature, composition, porosity, volatile and/or melt content, and other physical properties relevant to the solid Earth. Therefore, imaging the electrical structure of...
Naif, Samer; Selway, Kate; Murphy, Benjamin Scott; Egbert, Gary D.; Pommier, Anne Simultaneous observations of geoelectric and geomagnetic fields produced by magnetospheric ULF waves
Geomagnetic perturbations (BGEO) related to magnetospheric ultralow frequency (ULF) waves induce electric fields within the conductive Earth—geoelectric fields (EGEO)—that in turn drive geomagnetically induced currents. Though numerous past studies have examined ULF wave BGEO from a space weather perspective, few studies have linked ULF...
Hartinger, M. D.; Shih, X. R.; Lucas, G.; Murphy, Benjamin Scott; Kelbert, Anna; Baker, J.B.H.; Rigler, E. Joshua; Bedrosian, Paul A.