GEOMAGNETISM— COSMIC AND PROSAIC 



David G. Knapp and Elliott B. Roberts 

 U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 



Geomagnetic research occupies a unique position in the 

 realm of science. Aside from obvious uses in navigation, sur- 

 veying, and radio wave-propagation studies, geomagnetism con- 

 stitutes one of our few tools for probing the Earth's interior, 

 and is the only field of study that takes for its province the 

 whole sequence of concentric zones, from the earth's core to 

 the ionosphere and beyond. 



The student of geomagnetism finds much to hold his atten- 

 tion in Alaska. He may wish to specialize on the main field 

 and its secular change, with due attention to the steep gradients 

 and distorted forms characteristic of the Arctic magnetic field. 

 Or he may delve into the complexities of the transient phe- 

 nomena, finding that the Territory, with its broad regional 

 coverage and its position astride the auroral zone, affords a 

 great natural laboratory for such studies, unrivalled in scope 

 and accessibility anywhere in the world. It is hence fitting to 

 record that each forward step in Alaskan exploration and study 

 has had its magnetic aspect, ever since Bering's first voyage to 

 explore the coast of Kamchatka in 1725-30. 



During the period of Russian sovereignty, significant con- 

 tributions were made by Cook, von Lutke, Beechey, Wrangel, 

 and Maguire. One of the early successes of the Central Physical 

 Observatory of St. Petersburg was the establishment at Sitka 

 of a magnetic and meteorological observatory. This actually 

 was the first such station in North America (7), an able if 

 primitive forerunner of the present first-class observatory at 

 Sitka, which was established in 1901. An amusing sidelight on 

 this early activity is found in the account of a difficulty experi- 

 enced in using suspended-magnet instruments in winter, when 

 the frozen ground brought to the instrument pier disturbing 



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