My Master's project explored a novel approach to geomagnetic field modeling that circumvents the traditional requirement for full vector magnetic data. Typically, accurate models depend on vector measurements due to the Backus effect, where multiple field models can explain the same scalar intensity. Introducing a non-uniqueness to the problem.
To address this non-uniqueness, the project leveraged the Equatorial Electrojet (EEJ); a current system on the Earth's dayside that acts as a proxy for the magnetic equator, where the radial magnetic field component can be assumed to be zero. The idea was then to use this fact to costrain the magnetic field model.
🗣️ Presented at: 2024 ESA Swarm Science Conference, Copenhagen