UK quantum sensors track Earth’s magnetic pulse
Five UK-made quantum magnetometers are being installed to provide full UK coverage of the Earth's magnetic field for the first time.
Quantum magnetometers are highly sensitive instruments that can detect variations in the Earth’s magnetic field with extreme precision.
These new sensors will provide data to the British Geological Survey (BGS) to give scientists a more comprehensive understanding of how the magnetic field changes during extreme solar storms.
These storms result from solar wind and solar flares, creating temporary disturbances in Earth’s magnetosphere that trigger aurorae, like those visible in the UK in May 2024.
Such events can be large enough to affect grounded technology such as power grids, Global Navigation Satellite System receivers and railway signals.
It has not previously been possible to study these regional variations, or ‘pulses,’ using the three existing UK geomagnetic observatories.
The new quantum magnetometers have been strategically placed around the country to fill gaps in national coverage and allow small-scale, local variations to be monitored.
Sites of these sensors have been selected across the UK and are installed at:
- Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
- Boulby Underground Laboratory, North Yorkshire
- Blicking, Norfolk
- Chilbolton Observatory, Hampshire
- Thurso, Caithness
With more data, scientists can better advise government, the public and industry on where the risks are to the technologies we rely on.
This allows organisations, such as the UK’s power distribution companies, to take measures to protect supplies and services against the effects of space weather.
The funding to build and deploy the sensors comes from UK Research and Innovation.
