New geomagnetic observatory in Antarctica ensures accuracy of map data

Getting from A to B in Aotearoa with the help of smartphone maps is possible thanks to a geomagnetic observatory in Antarctica.

The Scott Base Geomagnetic Observatory supplies data for smartphone orientation, as well as air and ship navigation, monitoring space weather, aurora forecasting, and modelling the Earth's geological and geophysical activity.

GNS Science Geomagnetism Project leader Tanja Petersen said the observatory was part of a global network monitoring movements in the Earth's magnetic field.

"The Earth's magnetic field is slowly changing over time, so the difference between where our compass points to, and where north is on our map, changes over time," Dr Petersen said.

"We need to correct and calculate that change so you walk in the right direction when you use your smartphone map."

But the new Scott Base - due to be completed by 2030 - would have interfered with the observatory's data collection, said Scott Base redevelopment project director Jon Ager.

"The new Scott Base will be made of steel - a kryptonite [causing weakness or failure] to geomagnetic measurements which need to be collected in quiet magnetic settings.

"A new geomagnetic observatory was needed to make sure the integrity of these nationally and internationally important datasets is maintained and accurate measurements continue."

The new observatory was built last summer in Arrival Heights, 3km away from Scott Base in a "magnetically quiet" location.

The original and new observatories were now working in tandem, allowing a year's overlap of data until the original - established by Sir Edmund Hillary and his team in 1957 - is decommissioned this summer.

The green observatory huts will match the colour of the new Scott Base, as voted by the New Zealand public earlier this year.