scholarly journals The Mie representation for Mercury’s magnetospheric currents

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Toepfer ◽  
Y. Narita ◽  
W. Exner ◽  
D. Heyner ◽  
P. Kolhey ◽  
...  

AbstractPoloidal–toroidal magnetic field decomposition is a useful application of the Mie representation and the decomposition method enables us to determine the current density observationally and unambiguously in the local region of magnetic field measurement. The application and the limits of the decomposition method are tested against the Mercury magnetic field simulation in view of BepiColombo’s arrival at Mercury in 2025. The simulated magnetic field data are evaluated along the planned Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) trajectories and the current system that is crossed by the spacecraft is extracted from the magnetic field measurements. Afterwards, the resulting currents are classified in terms of the established current system in the vicinity of Mercury. Graphical Abstract

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Zhou ◽  
Bingjun Cheng ◽  
Xiaochen Gou ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Yiteng Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract The High Precision Magnetometer (HPM) is one of the main payloads onboard the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES). The HPM consists of two Fluxgate Magnetometers (FGM) and the Coupled Dark State Magnetometer (CDSM), and measures the magnetic field from DC to 15 Hz. The FGMs measure the vector components of the magnetic field; while the CDSM detects the magnitude of the magnetic field with higher accuracy, which can be used to calibrate the linear parameters of the FGM. In this paper, brief descriptions of measurement principles and performances of the HPM, ground, and in-orbit calibration results of the FGMs are presented, including the thermal drift and magnetic interferences from the satellite. The HPM in-orbit vector data calibration includes two steps: sensor non-linearity corrections based on on-ground calibration and fluxgate linear parameter calibration based on the CDSM measurements. The calibration results show a reasonably good stability of the linear parameters over time. The difference between the field magnitude calculated from the calibrated FGM components and the magnitude directly measured by the CDSM is just 0.5 nT (1σ) when the linear parameters are fitted separately for the day- and the night-side. Satellite disturbances have been analyzed including soft and hard remanence as well as magnetization of the magnetic torquer, radiation from the Tri-Band Beacon, and interferences from the rotation of the solar wing. A comparison shows consistency between the HPM and SWARM magnetic field data. Observation examples are introduced in the paper, which show that HPM data can be used to survey the global geomagnetic field and monitor the magnetic field disturbances in the ionosphere.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ovidiu Dragoş Constantinescu ◽  
Hans-Ulrich Auster ◽  
Magda Delva ◽  
Olaf Hillenmaier ◽  
Werner Magnes ◽  
...  

Abstract. In situ measurement of the magnetic field using space borne instruments requires either a magnetically clean platform and/or a very long boom for accommodating magnetometer sensors at a large distance from the spacecraft body. This significantly drives up the costs and time required to build a spacecraft. Here we present an alternative sensor configuration and an algorithm allowing for ulterior removal of the spacecraft generated disturbances from the magnetic field measurements, thus lessening the need for a magnetic cleanliness program and allowing for shorter boom length. The proposed algorithm is applied to the Service Oriented Spacecraft Magnetometer (SOSMAG) onboard the Korean geostationary satellite GeoKompsat-2A (GK2A) which uses for the first time a multi-sensor configuration for onboard data cleaning. The successful elimination of disturbances originating from several sources validates the proposed cleaning technique.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nak Ko ◽  
Seokki Jeong ◽  
Suk-seung Hwang ◽  
Jae-Young Pyun

This paper proposes a method of estimating the attitude of an underwater vehicle. The proposed method uses two field measurements, namely, a gravitational field and a magnetic field represented in terms of vectors in three-dimensional space. In many existing methods that convert the measured field vectors into Euler angles, the yaw accuracy is affected by the uncertainty of the gravitational measurement and by the uncertainty of the magnetic field measurement. Additionally, previous methods have used the magnetic field measurement under the assumption that the magnetic field has only a horizontal component. The proposed method utilizes all field measurement components as they are, without converting them into Euler angles. The bias in the measured magnetic field vector is estimated and compensated to take full advantage of all measured field vector components. Because the proposed method deals with the measured field independently, uncertainties in the measured vectors affect the attitude estimation separately without adding up. The proposed method was tested by conducting navigation experiments with an unmanned underwater vehicle inside test tanks. The results were compared with those obtained by other methods, wherein the Euler angles converted from the measured field vectors were used as measurements.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Ritter ◽  
H. Lühr ◽  
A. Viljanen ◽  
O. Amm ◽  
A. Pulkkinen ◽  
...  

Abstract. One important contribution to the magnetic field measured at satellite altitude and at ground level comes from the external currents. We used the total field data sampled by the Overhauser Magnetometer on CHAMP and the horizontal magnetic field measurements of the IMAGE ground-based magnetometer network to study the ionospheric Hall current system in the auroral regions. For the CHAMP data a current model consisting of a series of lines and placed at a height of 110km is fitted to the magnetic field signature sampled on the passage across the polar region. The derived current distributions depend, among others, on season and on the local time of the satellite track. At dawn/dusk the auroral electrojets can be detected most clearly in the auroral regions. Their intensity and location are evidently correlated with the A E activity index. For a period of almost two years the results obtained from space and the currents determined from ground-based observations are studied. For the full IMAGE station array a newly-developed method of spherical elementary current systems (SECS) is employed to compute the 2-D equivalent current distribution, which gives a detailed picture of an area covering latitudes 60° – 80° N and 10° – 30° E in the auroral region. Generally, the current estimates from satellite and ground are in good agreement. The results of this survey clearly show the average dependence of the auroral electrojet on season and local time. This is particularly true during periods of increased auroral activity. The correlation coefficient of the results is close to one in the region of sizeable ionospheric current densities. Also the ratio of the current densities, as determined from above and below the ionosphere, is close to unity. It is the first time that the method of Hall current estimate from a satellite has been validated quantitatively by ground-based observations. Among others, this result is of interest for magnetic main field modelling, since it demonstrates that ground-based observations can be used to predict electrojet signatures in satellite magnetic field scalar data. Key words. Ionosphere (auroral Ionosphere; electric fields and currents; ionosphere-magnetosphere interactions)


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-469
Author(s):  
Ovidiu Dragoş Constantinescu ◽  
Hans-Ulrich Auster ◽  
Magda Delva ◽  
Olaf Hillenmaier ◽  
Werner Magnes ◽  
...  

Abstract. In situ measurement of the magnetic field using spaceborne instruments requires a magnetically clean platform and/or a very long boom for accommodating magnetometer sensors at a large distance from the spacecraft body. This significantly drives up the costs and the time required to build a spacecraft. Here we present an alternative sensor configuration and a technique allowing for removal of the spacecraft-generated AC disturbances from the magnetic field measurements, thus lessening the need for a magnetic cleanliness programme and allowing for shorter boom length. The final expression of the corrected data takes the form of a linear combination of the measurements from all sensors, allowing for simple onboard software implementation. The proposed technique is applied to the Service Oriented Spacecraft Magnetometer (SOSMAG) on board the Korean geostationary satellite GeoKompsat-2A (GK2A). In contrast to other missions where multi-sensor measurements were used to clean the data on the ground, the SOSMAG instrument performs the cleaning on board and transmits the corrected data in real time, as needed by space weather applications. The successful elimination of the AC disturbances originating from several sources validates the proposed cleaning technique.


2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1795-1805 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. McLay ◽  
C. D. Beggan

Abstract. A physically-based technique for interpolating external magnetic field disturbances across large spatial areas can be achieved with the Spherical Elementary Current System (SECS) method using data from ground-based magnetic observatories. The SECS method represents complex electrical current systems as a simple set of equivalent currents placed at a specific height in the ionosphere. The magnetic field recorded at observatories can be used to invert for the electrical currents, which can subsequently be employed to interpolate or extrapolate the magnetic field across a large area. We show that, in addition to the ionospheric currents, inverting for induced subsurface current systems can result in strong improvements to the estimate of the interpolated magnetic field. We investigate the application of the SECS method at mid- to high geomagnetic latitudes using a series of observatory networks to test the performance of the external field interpolation over large distances. We demonstrate that relatively few observatories are required to produce an estimate that is better than either assuming no external field change or interpolation using latitudinal weighting of data from two other observatories.


Geophysics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 1489-1494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Smith ◽  
A. Peter Annan

The traditional sensor used in transient electromagnetic (EM) systems is an induction coil. This sensor measures a voltage response proportional to the time rate of change of the magnetic field in the EM bandwidth. By simply integrating the digitized output voltage from the induction coil, it is possible to obtain an indirect measurement of the magnetic field in the same bandwidth. The simple integration methodology is validated by showing that there is good agreement between synthetic voltage data integrated to a magnetic field and synthetic magnetic‐field data calculated directly. Further experimental work compares induction‐coil magnetic‐field data collected along a profile with data measured using a SQUID magnetometer. These two electromagnetic profiles look similar, and a comparison of the decay curves at a critical point on the profile shows that the two types of measurements agree within the bounds of experimental error. Comparison of measured voltage and magnetic‐field data show that the two sets of profiles have quite different characteristics. The magnetic‐field data is better for identifying, discriminating, and interpreting good conductors, while suppressing the less conductive targets. An induction coil is therefore a suitable sensor for the indirect collection of EM magnetic‐field data.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 785-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Kis ◽  
M. Scholer ◽  
B. Klecker ◽  
H. Kucharek ◽  
E. A. Lucek ◽  
...  

Abstract. Field-aligned beams are known to originate from the quasi-perpendicular side of the Earth's bow shock, while the diffuse ion population consists of accelerated ions at the quasi-parallel side of the bow shock. The two distinct ion populations show typical characteristics in their velocity space distributions. By using particle and magnetic field measurements from one Cluster spacecraft we present a case study when the two ion populations are observed simultaneously in the foreshock region during a high Mach number, high solar wind velocity event. We present the spatial-temporal evolution of the field-aligned beam ion distribution in front of the Earth's bow shock, focusing on the processes in the deep foreshock region, i.e. on the quasi-parallel side. Our analysis demonstrates that the scattering of field-aligned beam (FAB) ions combined with convection by the solar wind results in the presence of lower-energy, toroidal gyrating ions at positions deeper in the foreshock region which are magnetically connected to the quasi-parallel bow shock. The gyrating ions are superposed onto a higher energy diffuse ion population. It is suggested that the toroidal gyrating ion population observed deep in the foreshock region has its origins in the FAB and that its characteristics are correlated with its distance from the FAB, but is independent on distance to the bow shock along the magnetic field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-243
Author(s):  
Ye Zhu ◽  
Aimin Du ◽  
Hao Luo ◽  
Donghai Qiao ◽  
Ying Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Low Orbit Pearl Satellite series consists of six constellations, with each constellation consisting of three identical microsatellites that line up just like a string of pearls. The first constellation of three satellites were launched on 29 September 2017, with an inclination of ∼ 35.5∘ and ∼ 600 km altitude. Each satellite is equipped with three identical fluxgate magnetometers that measure the in situ magnetic field and its low-frequency fluctuations in the Earth's low-altitude orbit. The triple sensor configuration enables separation of stray field effects generated by the spacecraft from the ambient magnetic field (e.g., Zhang et al., 2006). This paper gives a general description of the magnetometer including the instrument design, calibration before launch, in-flight calibration, in-flight performance, and initial results. Unprecedented spatial coverage resolution of the magnetic field measurements allow for the investigation of the dynamic processes and electric currents of the ionosphere and magnetosphere, especially for the ring current and equatorial electrojet during both quiet geomagnetic conditions and storms. Magnetic field measurements from LOPS could be important for studying the method to separate their contributions of the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere (M-I) current system.


Materials ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 630
Author(s):  
Tomasz Chady ◽  
Ryszard D. Łukaszuk ◽  
Krzysztof Gorący ◽  
Marek J. Żwir

This paper proposes and experimentally investigates a novel nondestructive testing method for ferromagnetic elements monitoring, the Magnetic Recording Method (MRM). In this method, the inspected element must be magnetized in a strictly defined manner before operation. This can be achieved using an array of permanent magnets arranged to produce a quasi-sinusoidal magnetization path. The magnetic field caused by the original residual magnetization of the element is measured and stored for future reference. After the operation or loading, the magnetic field measurement is repeated. Analysis of relative changes in the magnetic field (for selected components) allows identifying applied stress. The proposed research methodology aims to provide information on the steel structure condition unambiguously and accurately. An interpretation of the results without referring to the original magnetization is also possible but could be less accurate. The method can be used as a standard technique for NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) or in structural health monitoring (SHM) systems.


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