7/31/2016

Earth'sMagneticFieldCalculatorsInstructions|NCEI

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ComputeEarth'sMagneticFieldValues
Onlinecalculatorstoestimatecurrentandpastvaluesofthemagneticfield.
Ifyouwantonlythemagneticdeclination(variation)forasingledaybetween1900present,visitourdeclination
calculator.
Ifyouwantallsevenmagneticfieldcomponentsforasingledayorrangeofyearsfrom1900present,pleasevisitour
MagneticFieldCalculator.Pleasereadtheinstructionsbelowbeforeusingthiscalculator.
U.S.HistoricDeclinationcalculatorThiscalculatorusestheUSdeclinationmodelstocomputedeclinationonlyforthe
conterminousUSfrom1750present.Duetodifferencesindataavailability(recordedobservationsofthemagneticfield),
thewesternpartoftheUSmaynothavevaluesuntiltheearly1800's.
Youcanalsocomputevaluesforanarea.Seetheinstructionsforarea.
Solardisturbancescancausesignificantdifferencesbetweentheestimatedandactualfieldvalues.Youcancheckthe
currentsolarconditionsfromNOAA'sSpaceEnvironmentCenter.
ValuesarecomputedusingthecurrentInternationalGeomagneticReferenceFieldasadoptedbytheInternationalAssociationofGeomagnetism
andAeronomy.ValuesareestimatesbasedontheIGRF10andaregenerallyaccuratetowithin30minutesofarcforDandIand100250nTfor
theforceelements(F,H,Z,X,andY).

Inputrequiredis:
1.Location(latitudeandlongitude),enteredeitherindecimaldegreesordegreesminutesandseconds(spaceseparatedintegers).
note:IfyoudonotknowyourlatitudeandlongitudeandyouliveintheUnitedStates,enteryourzipcodeintheboxprovidedandusethe
"GetLocation"buttonorthecountrycityselectboxesontheleft.LinksarealsoprovidedtotheU.S.GazetteerandtheGettyThesaurus,
goodsourcesoflatitude/longitudeinformationfortheU.S.andWorldrespectively.
2.Elevation(recommendedforaircraftandsatelliteuse)infeet,meters,orkilometersabovemeansealevel.
3.DateinYear,Month,Day(formdefaultstothecurrentday).Therearetwodateentriesprovidingtheabilitytocomputethemagneticfield
valuesoverarangeofyears.Bothdatesdefaulttothecurrentday.Ifyouwantonlythecurrentfieldvalues,youdonotneedto
enteranythingelse!Ifyouwanttoknowthemagneticfieldvaluesforarangeofyears(i.e.from19672017),entertheoldestdatein
theStartDateboxandthemostrecentdateintheEndDatebox.
4.DateStepSize(usedonlyforarangeofyears)isthenumberofyearsbetweencalculations.Forexample,ifyouwanttoknowthe
magneticfieldvaluesfrom1967through2017foreverytwoyears,enter1967fortheStartYear,2017fortheEndYear,and2fortheStep
Size.
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Earth'sMagneticFieldCalculatorsInstructions|NCEI

5.Tocomputeyourfieldvalues,hittheCompute!button.

Resultsincludethesevenfieldparametersandthecurrentratesofchangeforthefinalyear:
Declination(D)positiveeast,indegreesandminutes
Annualchange(dD)positiveeast,inminutesperyear
Inclination(I)positivedown,indegreesandminutes
Annualchange(dI)positivedown,inminutesperyear
HorizontalIntensity(H),innanoTesla
Annualchange(dH)innanoTeslaperyear
NorthComponentofH(X),positivenorth,innanoTesla
Annualchange(dX)innanoTeslaperyear
EastComponentofH(Y),positiveeast,innanoTesla
Annualchange(dY)innanoTeslaperyear
VerticalIntensity(Z),positivedown,innanoTesla
Annualchange(dZ)innanoTeslaperyear
TotalField(F),innanoTesla
Annualchange(dF)innanoTeslaperyear
Youcanseemoreinformationontherequiredinputorresults.Formoreinformationonmagnetism,adjustingyourcompass,computingbearings,
pleaseseeourAnswerstoFrequentlyAskedQuestions(FAQ)page.GotoComputetheFieldValues.
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RequiredInput
Enteringlocationinformation
IfyouareinterestedinalocationwithintheUSA,youcanenteryourpostalzipcodeinthespaceprovidedandpressthe"GetLocation"button.
Thelatitudeandlongitudeforthatpostalzipcode(asstoredintheU.S.CensusBureau),willautomaticallybepopulatedinthelocationarea.Ifno
valueappears,itislikelytherewasaproblemobtainingalocationforthezipcodeentered.Inthiscase,pleaseenterthelatitudeandlongitude
directlyintheboxesprovided.
Ifyouareenteringthelocationindegrees,minutes,andseconds,pleaseentervaluesforallthreeseparatedbyspacesevenifthe
valueiszero.Forexample,ifyourlocationisatlatitude3530'0",enter35300.Remember,thereare60secondsinaminuteand60minutes
inadegree,therefore3530'0"isequivalentto35.500DonotentertheN,S,E,orWdesignationinthebox!Instead,pleasebesurethe
properselectiontotherightoftheboxischeckedforyourlocation.Nstandsfornorthernhemispherelatitude,Sforsouthernhemispherelatitude,
Wforwesternhemispherelongitude,Eforeasternhemispherelongitude.TheUSAis(mostly)locatedinthenorthern(N)andwestern(W)
hemisphere.
Latituderangesfrom90south(southpole)to90north(northpole)with0meaningtheequator.Longituderangesfrom0(Greenwich,
England)eastwardthrough90East(Bangladesh)to180degreesandwestwardacrosstheAtlanticto90West(Jackson,MI)to180degrees
west.Forexample,thelocationofLouisville,KYUSAis38.2247N,85.7412Walsoexpressedas3813'29"N,8544'28"W.
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Enteringdateinformation
Therearetwodateentriesprovidingtheabilitytocomputethemagneticfieldvaluesoverarangeofyears.Ifyouwantarangeofdates,enter
youroldestdateinthe"StartDate"field,yourmostrecentdateinthe"EndDate"field,andenterthenumberofyearsbetweencomputationsin
the"DateStepSize"field.Forexample,ifyouwanttoknowthemagneticfieldvaluesfrom1900through2017at3yearintervals,enter19001
1forthestartdate,201711fortheenddate,and3forthestepsize.Theenddatemustbegreaterthanorequaltothestartdate.Donotenter
astepsize(defaultiszero)ifyouarenotcomputingarangeofyears.
TheIGRFmagneticfieldmodelisupdatedevery5yearstoenableforwardcomputingofthemagneticfield.Forexample,theIGRF12adoptedin
2005wasvalidthroughJanuary12020.Ifyouenteranenddatebeyondthevalidperiodofthemodel,youwillgetanerrormessagerequesting
youtoenteravaliddate.
Enteringelevation
Elevationisespeciallyimportantwhencomputingthemagneticfieldataircraftorhigheraltitudes.Ifyouareunsureofyourelevation,andare
interestedinalocationonthesurfaceofEarth,thedefaultof0issufficient.PleaseentertheelevationineitherKilometers(1to600)
Clickonthe"Compute"buttonwhenready.
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AreaInput
Tocomputethefieldvaluesforanarea,pleaseenterthenorthernmostandsouthernmostlatitude,thestepsizeforlatitude,thewesternmost
andeasternmostlongitudesandthestepsizeforlongitude.Forexample,ifyouareinterestedindeclinationgridfortheconterminousU.S.with
valuescomputedevery5degreesoflatitudeandlongitude,youwouldenter(clickonexampleforlargerimage):

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Readingtheresults
Themagneticparametersdeclination,inclination,horizontalcomponent,northcomponent,eastcomponent,verticalcomponent,andtotalfield(D,
I,H,X,Y,Z,andF)arecomputedbasedonthelatestInternationalGeomagneticReferenceField(IGRF)modeloftheEarth'smainmagneticfield.
Accuraciesfortheangularcomponents(Declination,DandInclination,I)arereportedindegreesandminutesofarcandaregenerallywithin30
minutes.Accuraciesfortheforcecomponents(HorizontalH,NorthX,EastY,VerticalZ,andTotalforceF)aregenerallywithin100to250
nanotesla.Localdisturbancesandattemptingtouseamodelbeyonditsvaliddaterangecouldcausegreatererrors.Beforeusing
theIGRFpleaselookatthe'HealthWarning'.ThesignconventionusedthroughoutisDeclination(D)positiveeast,Inclination(I)and
Verticalintensity(Z)positivedown,Northcomponent(X)positivenorth,andEastcomponent(Y)positiveeast.TheHorizontal(H)andTotal(F)
intensitiesarealwayspositive.FormoreinformationonEarth'smagneticfieldparameters,seeourFrequentlyAskedQuestions.

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