Articles | Volume 6, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-473-2017
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-6-473-2017
Research article
 | 
08 Nov 2017
Research article |  | 08 Nov 2017

Saint Petersburg magnetic observatory: from Voeikovo subdivision to INTERMAGNET certification

Roman Sidorov, Anatoly Soloviev, Roman Krasnoperov, Dmitry Kudin, Andrei Grudnev, Yury Kopytenko, Andrei Kotikov, and Pavel Sergushin

Abstract. Since June 2012 the Saint Petersburg magnetic observatory is being developed and maintained by two institutions of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) – the Geophysical Center of RAS (GC RAS) and the Saint Petersburg branch of the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation of RAS (IZMIRAN SPb). On 29 April 2016 the application of the Saint Petersburg observatory (IAGA code SPG) for introduction into the INTERMAGNET network was accepted after approval by the experts of the first definitive dataset over 2015, produced by the GC RAS, and on 9 June 2016 the SPG observatory was officially certified. One of the oldest series of magnetic observations, originating in 1834, was resumed in the 21st century, meeting the highest quality standards and all modern technical requirements. In this paper a brief historical and scientific background of the SPG observatory foundation and development is given, the stages of its renovation and upgrade in the 21st century are described, and information on its current state is provided. The first results of the observatory functioning are discussed and geomagnetic variations registered at the SPG observatory are assessed and compared with geomagnetic data from the INTERMAGNET observatories located in the same region.

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Short summary
Saint Petersburg Observatory was founded as a geomagnetic branch of the Voyeikovo magnetic and meteorological observatory in the late 1960s. In 2012 the station was upgraded to INTERMAGNET standard and in 2016 it was officially certified as SPG INTERMAGNET magnetic observatory. The SPG data can be downloaded via http://intermagnet.org or http://geomag.gcras.ru . This paper describes the way the SPG observatory made to become an international geomagnetic network member.