Information-measuring complex and database of mid-latitude...

Introduction

[2] Continuous geophysical observations form experimental base of geophysical researches in the evolution, the structure and the modern state of the Earth, its atmosphere, hydrosphere and all geophysical shells. During last decades in such researches the information and network technologies are very important. Computer processing of geophysical data includes their representation in a standard form (formatting), statistical processing (making of statistical characteristics), visualization of the geophysical information (plots, diagrams, maps), numerical modeling of the geophysical environment state and geophysical processes. All these tasks demand representation of the initial data in a digital form.

[3] The requirement for digitizing of the data from various analog medium appears from problems of mathematical and numerical modeling of geophysical processes. First numerical modeling problems demanded rather small data volumes, and digitizing could be carried out manually directly ahead of modeling. Usually the data were stored as the paper plots or tables. Afterwards data volumes increase and mathematical models become more complicated, leading to requirement of digital data logging. Devices for reading analog information (digitizers, scanners) and for analog signal digitizing (analog to digital converters) have been created.

[4] Thus, data digitizing began to be considered as a part of data processing. Now main geophysical observatories record the geophysical information to digital media. So researchers deal with the raw geophysical data already presented in a digital form. There is a necessity to maintain long-term storage of the digital geophysical data, to design universal data formats and to adjust formats of the different data.

[5] Today the data processing context extends, including rejection, interpolation, filtration, decimation of the raw data as well as their elementary statistical analysis, provided by many geophysical observatories. Thus digital registration allows automating the raw data processing, to reduce its time and to obtain processing results in near real time mode.

[6] The further development of digital technologies, appearance of personal computers and expansion of their application area stimulated also their usage in geophysical researches. It concerns, first of all, to visualize the data, to construct various plots, diagrams and maps. Effective visualization of data processing results is considered as the necessary part of geophysical data processing.

[7] The application of information technologies to the geophysical observations has resulted in occurrence of the geophysical databases, including raw geophysical data as well as data processing results and providing to users various opportunities for the data access, analysis and visualization. Creation and maintenance of these databases have undertaken both geophysical services, and large geophysical observatories. Their activity, in particular, has resulted in creation of the World Data Centers (WDCs), collected and provided the data on geophysical, solar-terrestrial and environmental problems (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/wdc/wdcmain.html). One of them - The World Data Center on Solar-Terrestrial Physics is located in Moscow (http://www.wdcb.ru/stp/index.ru.html).

[8] Firstly geophysical databases were distributed on digital hard media. Working with the geophysical observation results has qualitatively changed with occurrence of computer networks. Internet allows not only to provide researchers the convenient access to geophysical databases, but also to create the allocated databases and the international data logging networks to collect the geophysical data in near real time mode. Now the regional and global geoinformation systems are created to provide operative complex access to the various geophysical data, collected from various sources. The expert systems are developed to analyze the complex geophysical information, including ones, working in near real time mode. These systems are designed with usage not only data, but also experiences of geophysical observatories in the application of information technologies and telecommunications to the geophysical observations.

[9] Not only geophysical observatories but also the international geophysical networks provide access to the geophysical data via Internet. Borok Geophysical Observatory works in the Sub-Auroral Magnetometer Network (SAMNET) since 1998 and in the International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network (INTERMAGNET) since 2004 [Chulliat and Anisimov, 2007].

Figure 1

[10] The SAMNET is one of the national scientific programs of the Great Britain, created in 1987 with the purpose of the decision of problems of solar-terrestrial physics. SAMNET functioning is provided with Department of Communication Systems at Lancaster University. 14 magnetic stations of the Great Britain, located in Faeroess, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Russia, participate in the program (Figure 1). Geomagnetic field variations are registered with sampling rate 1 s at each station. The absolute time is provided by the global position system (GPS). The data collected within the framework of SAMNET program, are free using in the scientific purposes.

Figure 2

[11] The INTERMAGNET is the global network of observatories, monitoring the Earth's magnetic field. The INTERMAGNET program exists to establish a global network of cooperating digital magnetic observatories, adopting modern standard specifications for measuring and recording equipment, in order to facilitate data exchanges and the production of geomagnetic products in close to real time. In 2007, there are 107 magnetic observatories in 38 countries, operated in the framework of INTERMAGNET (Figure 2). The observatories and participating institutes operatively transfer the geomagnetic data to the regional geomagnetic information nodes by satellite, computer and telephone networks, using standard formats of INTERMAGNET. Regional geomagnetic information nodes are the collection and dissemination points for real-time data within INTERMAGNET. The participating observatories and institutes have free access to the all collected geomagnetic data.

Figure 3

[12] This paper describes the results and perspectives of the application of information technologies in geophysical observations at the middle-latitude Borok Geophysical Observatory [Anisimov and Dmitriev, 2003a, 2003b, 2003c; Anisimov et al., 1999, 2002], (S. V. Anisimov and E. M. Dmitriev, 2005, http://www.scgis.ru/russian/cp1251/h_dgggms/1-2005/inform-1.pdf; S. V. Anisimov et al., 2000, http://www.scgis.ru/russian/cp1251/h_dgggms/3-2000/anisimov.htm; S. V. Anisimov et al., 2001, http://www.scgis.ru/russian/cp1251/h_dgggms/4-2001/anisimov.pdf). Borok Geophysical Observatory realizes all kinds of geomagnetic measurements (geomagnetic pulsations, variations of a geomagnetic field, and absolute measurements of a magnetic field of the Earth). The observations of various geophysical fields include the measurements of atmosphere electricity (atmosphere electric field and current), telluric currents, atmospheric pressure variations, meteorological parameters and also Doppler ionosphere sounding. The scheme of the main measuring complex of the observatory is presented on Figure 3. The data logging, processing, storing and access are applied by the information technologies.