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Space weather monitoringGeomagnetic storms, measured on the ground.
Space weather disturbs power grids, satellite navigation, high-frequency radio and aviation. National services need ground measurements of the geomagnetic field and the ionosphere to warn operators and to confirm what a storm did. Magnetometer and receiver networks deliver them.
Plan a deploymentHow it worksStation Builder- Industry
- Government
- Measurements
- 4
- Sources cited
- 3
Government · Space weather monitoring
A national risk, measured
Severe space weather sits on national risk registers. Geomagnetic storms drive currents into transformers and pipelines, disturb satellite navigation and timing, and black out high-frequency radio. National services forecast storms from space data, but warnings and confirmation for operators need ground measurements of the field and the ionosphere.
What is measured
The field and the ionosphere
Magnetometers in non-magnetic huts measure the three components of the geomagnetic field every second at quiet sites far from steel and traffic. Dual-frequency satellite receivers measure ionospheric electron content and scintillation, and at agreed substations sensors measure the induced currents in transformer neutrals during storms.
- Instruments
- Magnetometers · Scintillation receivers · Neutral current sensors
The base node
Rates of change at the station
The node timestamps every sample precisely, corrects for hut temperature, computes the rate of change of the field and ionospheric indices each minute, and sends alerts to the service as thresholds are crossed. Every value is signed and kept for the post-storm record.
Radio and links
From quiet sites to the service
Quiet sites are often remote. Where cellular reaches them, one-second data travel in near real time; the quietest sites send theirs by satellite. Power and backhaul equipment sit away from the magnetometer so their currents do not disturb the measurement.
- Links
- Public cellular · Satellite
How it works
From a storm to a control room
A coronal mass ejection arrives. Magnetometers see the field swing, rates of change climb past the warning level, and neutral currents rise at two substations. The service issues a warning, grid control rooms reconfigure, and aviation centres receive ionospheric conditions for their advisories.
From order to operation · Order
Scope the national risk
The scope reads the national risk assessment, the grid, navigation and aviation users, existing observatories and the service’s forecasting tools. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a station plan, the real-time design, user products and a price per station and per year.
Plan a deploymentFrom order to operation · Survey
Survey for magnetic quiet
Crews survey candidate sites with a portable magnetometer for gradients and disturbance from steel, traffic, railways and power lines, check the sky view for receivers and the backhaul, and record the findings with photographs and coordinates. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow.
From order to operation · Permits
Land and quiet zones
Land agreements include a quiet zone where no steel structures or vehicles may come near the hut. Substation measurements are agreed with grid operators under their access rules. Every agreement is kept with the station record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.
From order to operation · Build
Build non-magnetic huts and kits
Huts and piers are built from non-magnetic materials; magnetometers, receivers and nodes are tested together, enrolled with their identities and checked in a quiet test site before they ship to the field. Test results travel with the kit to the site.
Open the Station BuilderFrom order to operation · Install
Install and orient
Crews set the pier, mount the magnetometer and orient it, install the receiver antenna, node, power and backhaul at a distance, and photograph each part. Absolute observations fix the baselines at installation. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.
From order to operation · Commission
Commission against an observatory
Each node proves its identity and its time. Data are compared with the nearest geomagnetic observatory through a quiet period and a storm, receiver indices are compared with international products, and alerts are tested with the service. Results are signed and kept with the site record.
From order to operation · Operate
Warn and confirm
The service sees the field, rates of change and ionospheric indices live. Grid operators receive warnings when rates rise, aviation centres receive ionospheric conditions for advisories, and after a storm everyone receives what it actually did. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record.
From order to operation · Maintain
Keep baselines and huts quiet
Absolute observations are repeated on the agreed plan to keep baselines, quiet zones are checked for new steel, software updates roll out in rings, and receivers are checked on visits. Every change is kept with the station record. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.
Book field servicesData products
For grids, aviation and forecasters
Grid and pipeline operators receive rate-of-change warnings; aviation and navigation users receive ionospheric conditions; space weather forecasters and researchers receive one-second magnetometer data; risk owners and regulators receive post-storm reports of what the storm did, each tied to station and time.
See the data productsEvidence
Observatory practice, operator duties
Magnetometers follow the international observatory reference manual, ionospheric products support the aviation space weather manual, and induced current measurements support grid operators’ geomagnetic disturbance assessments. Every sample keeps its time, baseline and calibration, so a storm can be reconstructed afterwards.
- Drawn against
- INTERMAGNET Technical Reference Manual · ICAO Doc 10100 · NERC TPL-007
What you get
National observing network programmes
Build-operate-transfer of national observing infrastructure as digital public infrastructure, with transfer of skills and records. Delivered as build-operate-transfer and professional services, for governments, development lenders financing them. Scale: National. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.
Talk to salesNext step
Plan space weather monitoring with us
Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for space weather monitoring. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.
Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio
01The place and its hazards
Where it runs, and what can go wrong.
Operating contextSpace weather is on national risk registers. Ground magnetometers measure geomagnetic variations to observatory standards, GNSS receivers measure ionospheric total electron content and scintillation, aviation needs space weather advisories, and grid operators must assess geomagnetic disturbance risk to their transmission systems.
Hazards
- Geomagnetically induced currents in transformers and pipelines
- Degraded satellite navigation and timing
- High-frequency radio blackouts for aviation and emergency services
- Magnetometers disturbed by nearby steel, traffic and power lines
- Storms that arrive with little warning
02What must be measured
What, where, how often, and under which rules.
Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.
| Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geomagnetic field variations | Magnetometers at quiet sites far from steel and traffic | Every second | 1 |
| Ionospheric total electron content and scintillation | Dual-frequency GNSS receivers across the country | Every second, summarised each minute | 2 |
| Geomagnetically induced currents | Transformer neutrals at selected substations | Every second during storms | 3 |
| Station temperature for magnetometer correction | Inside each magnetometer hut | Every minute | 1 |
03The observation stack
From one base unit to a network.
The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.
- 01
Base unit
A station: a magnetometer in a non-magnetic hut, a scintillation receiver and a node with precise time.
Build a station → - 02
Site
A site: the quiet station far from steel and traffic, solar or mains power and a backhaul link.
Plan a site → - 03
Fleet
The national network of stations processed as one, with one console at the space weather service.
Managed offers → - 04
Network
National services exchange magnetometer and ionospheric data with international networks and aviation centres.
The open protocol →
- 01Magnetometer (observatory class)
- 02GNSS reference station (RTK)
- 03Energy and power-quality meter
- 04Sensor and instrument gateway
- 05Edge node (Wedge)
- 06Cellular modem/router
- 07LEO flat-panel terminal
- 08Solar array
- 09Shelter
Radio and links
Public cellular
Stations send one-second data in near real time over cellular where coverage reaches the quiet site.
Radio and links
Satellite
The quietest sites are remote; they send their data by satellite.
Edge computeThe node timestamps every sample precisely, corrects for hut temperature, computes rates of change and ionospheric indices each minute and sends storm alerts to the service as thresholds are crossed.
PowerSolar and batteries at remote quiet sites, kept away from the magnetometer so their currents do not disturb it; mains with backup where available.
04How it works
From the instrument to the product.
One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.
Space weather monitoring: data path
– of 07
01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Gateway 03 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 04 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 05 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 06 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 07 Products IAGA-2002RINEXOGC SensorThings API 08 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC to thefield equipment 01 Magnetometer (observatoryclass) SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 GNSS reference station (RTK) Ethernet · GNSS antenna · RS-232 ·1PPS/10 MHz 03 Energy and power-quality meter SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 04 Sensor and instrument gateway SDI-12 · RS-485 · Analogue I/O ·Ethernet · USB 05 Edge node (Wedge) Ethernet · Fibre · USB · RS-485 ·BMC 06 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 07 LEO flat-panel terminal Ethernet Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Geomagnetic rate-of-changewarnings Ionospheric conditions One-second magnetometer data Post-storm reports 08 Solar array RS-485 09 Shelter RS-485 · Modbus RS-485 · Modbus Ethernet · ntp-nts Ethernet · MQTT 5 Ethernet Ethernet LTE/NR Satellite IP| Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Magnetometer (observatory class)Vector or scalar magnetometer for geomagnetic observation and space-weather monitoring. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 02 | GNSS reference station (RTK)Multi-constellation GNSS base station that streams corrections for real-time kinematic positioning. | EthernetGNSS antennaRS-2321PPS/10 MHz | NMEA 0183, NTP with NTS | 12 V DC |
| 03 | Energy and power-quality meterMeter for voltage, current, power, energy and power quality at a site or on a feeder. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | Modbus, IEC 61850 (MMS, GOOSE), DNP3 (IEEE 1815), MQTT 5 | 12 V DC |
| 04 | Sensor and instrument gatewayData logger and gateway that reads instruments on SDI-12, RS-485, analogue and Ethernet ports and publishes observations with calibration and time. | SDI-12RS-485Analogue I/OEthernetUSB | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API, OGC API Connected Systems, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE |
| 05 | Edge node (Wedge)Rugged edge node that boots from signed media, attests itself and establishes a site cell from little or no infrastructure. | EthernetFibreUSBRS-485BMC | MQTT 5, DMTF Redfish, IEEE 1588 PTP, NTP with NTS, OPC UA | 12 V DC, 24 V DC, 48 V DC, AC mains |
| 06 | Cellular modem/routerLTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE |
| 07 | LEO flat-panel terminalElectronically steered flat-panel user terminal for low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations. | Ethernet | — | PoE, 48 V DC, AC mains |
| 08 | Solar arrayPV modules with charge controller sized to the site’s load and climate. | RS-485 | Modbus | — |
| 09 | ShelterWalk-in shelter or container with HVAC, fire detection and power distribution. | — | — | — |
How it scales
01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces.SITE
Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality.CLUSTER
×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites.FLEET
Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts.TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange- Data in the field
- MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses.
- Telemetry
- OpenTelemetry OTLP.
- Control
- TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2.
- Data upstream
- At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links.
- Evidence
- DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts.
- Events
- Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3.
- Exchange
- OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0.
05From order to operation
Every step, from the first call to a running site.
The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.
- 01 Order
Scope the national risk
The scope reads the national risk assessment, the grid, navigation and aviation users, existing observatories and the service’s forecasting tools. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a station plan, the real-time design, user products and a price per station and per year. 3
- 02 Survey
Survey for magnetic quiet
Crews survey candidate sites with a portable magnetometer for gradients and disturbance from steel, traffic, railways and power lines, check the sky view for receivers and the backhaul, and record the findings with photographs and coordinates. Every finding is kept with the site record for the crews who follow. 1
- 03 Permits
Land and quiet zones
Land agreements include a quiet zone where no steel structures or vehicles may come near the hut. Substation measurements are agreed with grid operators under their access rules. Every agreement is kept with the station record. Approvals are tracked site by site, so nothing waits unseen.
- 04 Build
Build non-magnetic huts and kits
Huts and piers are built from non-magnetic materials; magnetometers, receivers and nodes are tested together, enrolled with their identities and checked in a quiet test site before they ship to the field. Test results travel with the kit to the site.
- 05 Install
Install and orient
Crews set the pier, mount the magnetometer and orient it, install the receiver antenna, node, power and backhaul at a distance, and photograph each part. Absolute observations fix the baselines at installation. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. 1
- 06 Commission
Commission against an observatory
Each node proves its identity and its time. Data are compared with the nearest geomagnetic observatory through a quiet period and a storm, receiver indices are compared with international products, and alerts are tested with the service. Results are signed and kept with the site record. 1
- 07 Operate
Warn and confirm
The service sees the field, rates of change and ionospheric indices live. Grid operators receive warnings when rates rise, aviation centres receive ionospheric conditions for advisories, and after a storm everyone receives what it actually did. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 2
- 08 Maintain
Keep baselines and huts quiet
Absolute observations are repeated on the agreed plan to keep baselines, quiet zones are checked for new steel, software updates roll out in rings, and receivers are checked on visits. Every change is kept with the station record. Spares and procedures travel with the crews. 1
06Data products and integration
What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.
Data products
- Geomagnetic rate-of-change warningsGrid and pipeline operators
- Ionospheric conditionsAviation and navigation users
- One-second magnetometer dataSpace weather forecasters and researchers
- Post-storm reportsRisk owners and regulators
Integration
- Space weather serviceData feed the national service’s forecasting and nowcasting tools.
- International networksMagnetometer data are shared in the international observatory formats.
- Grid operatorsWarnings reach control rooms through their own alarm interfaces.
Exchanged through IAGA-2002, RINEX, OGC SensorThings API.
07Questions buyers ask
Before you scope it.
How quiet must a site be?
Quiet enough to meet observatory practice, which the survey checks.
Can it measure induced currents?
Yes, at substations where the operator agrees.
Is the time precise enough?
Each sample is timestamped from satellite time with a held reference.
Do you forecast storms?
Forecasting stays with the national service; the network supplies ground truth.
08Resources
The sources behind this page.
Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.
- 1INTERMAGNET Technical Reference ManualINTERMAGNET
- 2ICAO Doc 10100: Manual on Space Weather Information in Support of International Air NavigationInternational Civil Aviation Organization
- 3NERC TPL-007: Transmission System Planned Performance for Geomagnetic Disturbance EventsNorth American Electric Reliability Corporation
09Related
Use cases and solutions.
SolutionNational observing network programmes
Build-operate-transfer of national observing infrastructure as digital public infrastructure, with transfer of skills and records.Solutions for government →SolutionTiming and positioning integrity
PTP grandmasters with GNSS holdover, interference detection and timing monitoring for networks and instruments.Solutions for government →SolutionResearch site and instrument services
Site power, connectivity, timing and operations for telescopes, flux towers and research stations.Solutions for government →10Government: specialized fields
Other fields of this industry.
Specialized fieldNational weather and hydrology networks
Automatic weather stations, rain gauges and river gauges run as one national network, sited, calibrated and reported to WMO rules so every ministry and neighbour can use the data.The full field →Specialized fieldUpper-air soundings
Radiosonde stations that launch soundings on schedule, with ground receivers, gas handling and data checks run as part of the national observing programme.The full field →Specialized fieldGeodetic reference and national timing
Continuously operating GNSS reference stations and time references that hold a country’s coordinates and clocks to the global frames every map, survey and network depends on.The full field →Specialized fieldEnvironmental radiation monitoring
Gamma dose-rate stations across the country, reporting continuously to the national authority and its neighbours so that a release anywhere is seen at once.The full field →Bring us the site.
Plan a deployment, configure a station, model it in the Studio or talk to sales. The form names who receives your details.
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