The Ørsted Satellite Project

A Danish Microsatellite With a High Scientific Profile

Papers and reports


ØRSTED VERIFIES REGIONAL MAGNETIC ANOMALIES OF THE ANTARCTIC LITHOSPHERE

 

Kim, H.R.(1), R.R.R. von Frese (1), J.W. Kim (2), P.T. Taylor (3), T. Neubert (4)

  1. Dept. of Geological Sciences and Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  2. Dept. of Earth Sciences, Sejong University, Seoul, 143-747, Korea
  3. NASA Geodynamics Branch, Code 921, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
  4. Solar-Terrestrial Physics Division, Danish Meteorological Institute, Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Abstract. Initial magnetic measurements from the Ørsted satellite mission reveal lithospheric anomalies over the Antarctic that are similar to those extracted from the Magsat mission. This result is significant for two reasons. First, it confirms that lithospheric anomalies can be extracted from the Ørsted data, despite the substantially increased operational altitude of the satellite (650-865 km) compared with Magsat (350-550 km). Second, it confirms the small-amplitude lithospheric anomalies in the Antarctic Magsat data. These earlier data were collected some 20 years ago during austral high Summer and early Fall when the interfering effects of the dynamic large-amplitude auroral fields were maximum. The confirmation provided by Ørsted greatlly facilitates our efforts to separate core, lithospheric, and external field components in satellite magnetic data, and hence exploit the unique satellite perspective in studies of the Earth's magnetic field.