Introduction to Magnetometers

Ground magnetometers have played a major role in the development of space science by allowing researchers to remotely measure currents that define the dynamics of the magnetosphere and Earth's ionosphere. They have led to the identification of ionospheric currents associated with magnetic storms and substorms, as well as those associated with global compressions of the magnetosphere from interplanetary shocks and bow shock-related instabilities. Ground magnetometer observations have made it possible to track and comprehend the way reconfigurations of currents and convection are propagated globally after the magnetosphere is impacted by solar wind and/or interplanetary magnetic field dynamics. Global ground magnetometer observations provide fundamental and necessary context for any current or future missions that research the near-Earth environment. The above overview of magnetometers is by no means intended to be complete, but is meant to illustrate the historic success of magnetometers and their contributions to space physics and related fields.