ISWI Newsletter - Vol.4 No.74
27 June 2012
Dear ISWI Participant:
The MAGDAS Project (PI is Prof. K. Yumoto) has over 64 real time magnetometers in operation all over the world --- it is Japan's most significant contribution to IHY/ISWI. Almost every magnetometer sensor hut design is unique no two are exactly the same.
Today, I would like to introduce to you what is perhaps the best sensor hut design to-date. It is in Biak, Indonesia. Photos are attached.
The MAGDAS Project's primary partner in Indonesia is LAPAN. This is the country's space agency. Mr Mamat is a scientist and engineer working for LAPAN. He is based in Bandung, which is not too far from Jakarta. The sensor hut for Biak was designed by Mr Mamat. It is really an outstanding design. LAPAN staff in Biak constructed this sensor hut, about one year ago.
In March of this year, a ICSWSE team of Dr Abe, Mr Huzaimy, and Mr Matsushita, visited Biak and installed a MAGDAS-9 magnetometer at Biak using this sensor hut. Dr Abe is part of staff, and the other two are students at Kyushu University.
Why is the sensor hut so deep ? When you are 2m in the earth, diurnal temperature variation is very small. This is often quite important for magnetic instrumentation because magnetic measurements must not show any "temperature drift". If the data shows drift, it must be drift due to magnetic reasons. In other words, if the instrument is sensitive to temperature variation, then it is not really a magnetometer -- it is a thermometer.
|
Cordially yours, George Maeda Editor of ISWI Newsletter Hakozaki Campus, Kyushu University, Japan. |
Attachments:
(1) Photos from MAGDAS-9 Installation at Biak, in Indonesia 
)
If you want to read the original newsletter, click here.