1.2. INTERMAGNET Vision, Mission and Objectives

The main objective of INTERMAGNET is to establish a global network of cooperating digital magnetic observatories, adopting modern standard specifications for measuring and recording equipment, in order to facilitate data exchange and the production of geomagnetic products in a timely manner.

In more detail, INTERMAGNET has a specific vision, mission and strategy, which are as follows.

The INTERMAGNET vision is of

A global, real-time, permanent geomagnetic observatory network, which is recognized as a key Earth observation system that provides data, which serve scientific research into the Earth, from its deep interior to space, and support operational services benefiting society.

The INTERMAGNET mission is to

Establish and maintain an organization with a worldwide membership drawn from institutes operating geomagnetic observatories that is dedicated to building a network of geomagnetic observatories supplying consistent data, with the geographical coverage, quality, and timeliness of delivery required to meet the evolving needs of research and applied science.

The INTERMAGNET strategy is to

  1. Set mandatory standards for measurement, data processing, formats and transmission for network membership, and to support geomagnetic observatory operators in achieving these standards by providing technical assistance.

  2. Provide advice on the establishment of new observatories, to help co-ordinate initiatives taken by member institutes and to optimize the scientific value of the global network.

  3. Support data services, as a member of the World Data System, by maintaining an infrastructure for geomagnetic observatory data collection and dissemination.

  4. Communicate with data users to promote the use of INTERMAGNET data and to understand their requirements, feeding this information into the definitions of operating standards.

  5. Work closely with the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy and other organizations concerned with magnetic observatory operations.

  6. Maintain a dialog with technology providers to take advantage of new developments in instrumentation and data acquisition, and to advise them of user demands for data in order to inform their system developments.

This manual therefore describes the global near real-time magnetic observatory network, known as INTERMAGNET. Throughout the document, the term “magnetic observatory” will mean a recording station where absolute measurements of the geomagnetic field are made on a regular basis over many years and which produces data of the requisite quality for secular variation studies.