Aa Indices.

The aa index is a simple global geomagnetic activity index, with units of 1 nT (nanotesla), which is produced from the K indices from two approximately antipodal observatories. At present these are Hartland observatory in the UK and Canberra observatory in Australia. The main advantage in using aa indices for research purposes is that the time series spans further back (to 1868) than any of the other planetary indices time series.Also, up to date values are produced and made available weekly, giving nearer to real time availability than any other planetary index. In between the weekly updates, BGS calculates estimated aa indices, providing real time "nowcasts" which are updated on an hourly basis. These estimates are clearly marked with the letters "Est". Although calculated by the same method, the aa indices available on this service are not the definitive values. These are published by the International Service for Geomagnetic Indices, CRPE/CNET - CNRS, 4 Avenue de Neptune, F-94107 Saint Maur, Cedex, France.

Date (Creation): 1868

Identifier: http://data.bgs.ac.uk/id/dataHolding/13480365

Distributor

British Geological Survey - Enquiries

The Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South , EDINBURGH , LOTHIAN , EH14 4AP , United Kingdom

0115 936 3142
0115 936 3276

Originator

British Geological Survey - Enquiries

The Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South , EDINBURGH , LOTHIAN , EH14 4AP , United Kingdom

0115 936 3142
0115 936 3276

Point of contact

British Geological Survey - Enquiries

The Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South , EDINBURGH , LOTHIAN , EH14 4AP , United Kingdom

0115 936 3142
0115 936 3276

Maintenance and update frequency: weekly Weekly

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

Geology

BGS Thesaurus of Geosciences

Geomagnetism
UK Location (INSPIRE)

dataCentre

UK Location (INSPIRE)

Keywords

NERC_DDC

Access constraints: otherRestrictions Other restrictions

Other constraints: In its role as World Data Centre for Geomagnetism (Edinburgh) we make available the data for scientific research. If the data are used in publications and presentations, the data suppliers and this WDC should be acknowledged. For commercial applications of these data, please contact the relevant institute directly.

Use constraints: otherRestrictions Other restrictions

Other constraints: The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.

Other constraints: Either: (i) the dataset is made freely available, e.g. via the Internet, for a restricted category of use (e.g. educational use only); or (ii) the dataset has not been formally approved by BGS for access and use by external clients under licence, but its use may be permitted under alternative formal arrangements; or (iii) the dataset contains 3rd party data or information obtained by BGS under terms and conditions that must be consulted in order to determine the permitted usage of the dataset. Refer to the BGS staff member responsible for the creation of the dataset if further advice is required. He / she should be familiar with the composition of the dataset, particularly with regard to 3rd party IPR contained in it, and any resultant use restrictions. This staff member should revert to the IPR Section (ipr@bgs.ac.uk ) for advice, should the position not be clear.

Metadata language: EnglishEnglish

Topic category

Geoscientific information

Geographic identifier

WORLD [id=100000]

Date (Creation): 1979

Begin date: 1868

Supplemental Information: Complete time Series. Global: Derived from 2 Antipodal Locations.

Unique resource identifier: WGS 84 (EPSG::4326)

Distribution format

DELIMITED ASCII - ASCII Year Files or user defined. ()

Distributor

British Geological Survey - Enquiries

The Lyell Centre, Research Avenue South , EDINBURGH , LOTHIAN , EH14 4AP , United Kingdom

0115 936 3142
0115 936 3276

OnLine resource: http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/data_service/data/magnetic_indices/aaindex.html

Hierarchy level: dataset Dataset

Other: dataset

Conformance result

Date (Publication): 2011

Explanation: See the referenced specification

Pass: No

Conformance result

Date (Publication): 2010-12-08

Explanation: See http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:323:0011:0102:EN:PDF

Pass: No

Statement: The aa indices are derived using data from two nearly antipodal observatories, where magnetograms were available since 1868. For each three hour interval, K indices are measured at the two stations and converted back into amplitude; an individual aa index is the average of the northern and southern values, weighted to account for the small difference in latitude of the two stations, or for the slight changes in the very place of the observatory. The definitive values are published by the International Service for Geomagnetic Indices.