As part of a Sparkling Science project "Sparkling Geomagnetic Field" a regional station network was set up in close cooperation with schools in the years 2012 to 2015. This data offers the possibility to examine the character of geomagnetic storms, as well as "substorms" contained in the main storm phase and their longitude and latitude dependency in a spatially limited area under precisely controlled conditions. The regional distribution also makes it possible to question the geo-efficiency of such events in the Austrian area. Due to the topicality and the relatively broad research content, this project is particularly suitable for teaching scientific research in schools. All basic scientific disciplines - mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology - are addressed equally through station construction, support, data analysis and visualization. Complementary geological fieldwork, examining records of field variations from Earth's past, will also provide a sense of the geological time scale of Earth system processes and functions.
The reconstruction of the Earth's magnetic field is based on different data types, which are, on the one hand,
characterized by highly variable measurement and age uncertainties and, on the other hand, a strongly
heterogeneous spatio-temporal distribution. The main focus of the projet was the integration of these different
records within a single database along with a thorough analysis of
associated uncertainties, which were
adequately considered for the final modelling approach.
In the initial phase of the project new geomagnetic records were acquired. Historical (direct) observations were
located and recorded, inter alia, in archives, monasteries and on historical maps.