Modelling the Earth's magnetic field

Abstract

The Earth's magnetic field can be decomposed into spherical harmonics, and the exact coefficients of the decomposition can be determined through a few measurements of its value at different locations. Using measurements from a magnetometer on board the International Space Station, we computed the multipolar moments of an expansion in spherical harmonics to order 3, calculated the location of the magnetic dip poles, and produced an intensity map of the magnetic field across the globe. The accuracy of the results was evaluated by comparison with data from the International Geomagnetic Reference Field.