In situ vector calibration of magnetic observatories

Abstract

The goal of magnetic observatories is to measure and provide a vector magnetic field in a geodetic coordinate system. For that purpose, instrument set-up and calibration are crucial. In particular, the scale factor and orientation of a vector magnetometer may affect the magnetic field measurement. Here, we highlight the baseline concept and demonstrate that it is essential for data quality control. We show how the baselines can highlight a possible calibration error. We also provide a calibration method based on high-frequency "absolute measurements". This method determines a transformation matrix for correcting variometer data suffering from scale factor and orientation errors. We finally present a practical case where recovered data have been successfully compared to those coming from a reference magnetometer.