Four centuries of geomagnetic data from historical records

We present a comprehensive review of historical geomagnetic data collected over the last 2 decades by many workers, culminating in the largest such compilation in the world. It spans over 4 centuries, from 1510 to 1930 inclusive, and consists of 151,560 declinations, 19,525 inclinations, and 16,219...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reviews of geophysics (1985) 2003-06, Vol.41 (2), p.1006-n/a
Main Authors: Jonkers, Art R. T., Jackson, Andrew, Murray, Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Core processes
geomagnetic data
Geomagnetism and paleomagnetism
historical geomagnetic observations
History of Geophysics
magnetic field
maritime history
navigation
Reference fields (regional, global)
secular variation
Time variations—secular and long term
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Summary:We present a comprehensive review of historical geomagnetic data collected over the last 2 decades by many workers, culminating in the largest such compilation in the world. It spans over 4 centuries, from 1510 to 1930 inclusive, and consists of 151,560 declinations, 19,525 inclinations, and 16,219 intensities. The greater part of the new data set comprises unpublished observations recorded by mariners engaged in merchant and naval shipping across the world's oceans. Earlier published compilations and printed accounts of voyages have also been included, in particular when their original sources were inaccessible, missing, or no longer extant. The current effort has brought together an unprecedented number of early observations of the Earth's magnetic field, in standardized format, of potential use in many areas of geophysical research.
ISSN:8755-1209
1944-9208
DOI:10.1029/2002RG000115