Crustal geomagnetic field - Two-dimensional intermediate-wavelength spatial power spectra

Abstract

Two-dimensional Fourier spatial power spectra of equivalent magnetization values are presented for a region that includes a large portion of the western United States. The magnetization values were determined by inversion of POGO satellite data, assuming a magnetic crust 40 km thick, and were located on an 11 x 10 array with 300 km grid spacing. The spectra appear to be in good agreement with values of the crustal geomagnetic field spatial power spectra given by McLeod and Coleman (1980) and with the crustal field model given by Serson and Hannaford (1957). The spectra show evidence of noise at low frequencies in the direction along the satellite orbital track (N-S). indicating that for this particular data set additional filtering would probably be desirable. These findings illustrate the value of two-dimensional spatial power spectra both for describing the geomagnetic field statistically and as a guide for diagnosing possible noise sources.