SAMNET - The UK Sub-Auroral Magnetometer Network

SAMNET is operated by the Space Plasma Environment and Radio Science (SPEARS) group, Department of Physics, Lancaster University. It is part of the international SuperMAG consortium. We currently operate 5 stations equipped with fluxgate magnetometers which continuously record natural variations in the Earth's magnetic field. In addition we also archive 1 second resolution data from 5 IMAGE magnetometers (standard IMAGE resolution is 10s) and also data from 3 British Geological Survey magnetometers. The magnetometer data contains information about the complex interactions within the coupled Solar Wind-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere system.

SAMNET began taking data on the 1st October, 1987. It has stations in the UK, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Russia. Each records the magnetic field in three orthogonal components: H, D and Z, these being Horizontal Magnetic Northwards, Horizontal Magnetic Eastwards and vertically downwards; for the first 8 years of operation the sampling interval was 5 seconds, but since mid-November 1995 our stations have been recording at 1 second intervals. In addition to our own stations we also incorporate 1 second data the Geological Survey of Sweden magnetometer at Uppsala, and from selected IMAGE stations (Hankasalmi, Kilpisjärvi, Nurmijärvi, and Oulujärvi) and BGS stations (Eskdalemuir, Hartland and Lerwick). The data is sent back to Lancaster where it is transcribed, verified and stored for later analysis. Until 31st March 2003 SAMNET was operated by the University of York. A separate page provides details on the history of SAMNET. Information on our research interests can be seen on the Space Plasma Environment and Radio Science (SPEARS) page.

The data is freely available for bona-fide research purposes, subject to the ‘Rules of the Road’. Registered users can request data from either the 1s or 5s data archives. Registered users can also create online, user-defined plots (magnetograms). Please check the data catalogue before requesting data or plots. Further information and links to all our data services, including registration, can be found below.

Station locations.
Data catalogue.
Data format.
Summary plots of archived daily magnetograms. Now includes real-time data for the very latest results.
Online user-defined magnetograms and online data (registered users only - registration is free).
STP events database, including substorm onsets detected by SAMNET.
Real-time Pi2 detection.
Substorm Timing and Location.
Times of substorm onsets can also be searched using the STP events database. A separate facility exists to find the location of substorms once the time of onset is known (or follow the link in the output of the STP events database).
Publications
‘Rules of the road’ for using SAMNET data.
SAMNET documentation (restricted to SAMNET administrators).

For real-time storm warning and possible auroral sightings in the UK see AuroraWatch.

A Lancaster University approved page by SAMNET.