Geomagnetism with CrowdMag
Dr. Rick Saltus, and Dr. Neesha Schnepf presented on their recent research in geomagnetism and talk about their crowd-sourcing app: CrowdMag.
Dr. Rick Saltus, and Dr. Neesha Schnepf presented on their recent research in geomagnetism and talk about their crowd-sourcing app: CrowdMag.
Richard Saltus works with the NOAA GEOMAG team on an update to the EMAG2 global magnetic anomaly compilation. The goal is to improve the compilation's resolution and reliability, which will improve its applicability to geologic and tectonic interpretation.
Neesha Schnepf and her geomagnetism research group work with space-based, airborne, marine, and in-situ magnetic field observatories to study changes in Earth’s magnetic field on a minute, hourly, daily, and yearly time frame. The primary application of this research is to improve navigation accuracy for land, sea, and airborne modes of transportation, to enhance satellite orientation, and to explore natural resources.
All Ages: You can be a citizen scientist! The CrowdMag team needs you to download their app and take measurements (as often as you want) to capture the fluctuations in geomagnetism throughout the day and around the world.
Pre-K: Geomagnetism and magnetism can be hard concepts at this age, but you can use a visual analogy to help you imagine what a geomagnetic field might look like by hula-hooping. The hula-hoop is always there, applying a small amount of pressure but also moving and changing.
K-5: Did you know sea turtles use geomagnetism to navigate? We didn't either, which is why we found this easy at-home NPR Science Friday activity to be so fascinating. All you need are some magnets, playdough/clay, and some junk drawer goods (scissors, tape, bolts or screws, cardboard, etc).
MIT offers a matching game, simply print the images and try to match them.
Head over to NOAA's Geomagnetism Storymap for a self-paced presentation on what geomagnetism is and how it impacts things on earth, track the movement of the north and south poles, and listen to a recording of a solar storm.
9-12: Educators will find this series of lessons and activities from Berkeley very useful while teaching the advanced concepts of geomagnetism. As well as these lessons from the Florida State University's CPalms.
Check the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center's 3-Day Geomagnetism Forecast. Compare the predictions to your CrowdMag findings. Then check the NOAA Magnetic Field Calculator to see if you can spot any anomalies.