Intermediate‐scale magnetic anomalies of the Earth

Abstract

Four separate magnetic anomaly maps of the earth are derived from magnetometer satellite data acquired at dawn and at dusk using two different altitude ranges. The magnetic anomalies on the two dawn maps (or dusk maps) are well correlated for spherical harmonics of degree less than 51, suggesting that the time varying external magnetic field and leveling noise have negligible effects on these harmonics. Dawn and dusk maps have an appreciable asymmetric component for harmonics of degree n ⩽ 5 and n = 15 and 17, arising from the quasi‐stable external magnetic field. Dawn‐dusk covariant harmonics of degree [Formula: see text] with signal‐to‐noise ratios greater than 1.5 correlate well. Correlation coefficients are higher than 0.75, implying that these harmonics can be repeatably derived. A global scalar magnetic anomaly map is derived based on these harmonics. The map is then converted to a magnetic susceptibility anomaly map by an inversion technique. The susceptibility anomalies delineate the ocean‐continent differences as well as the boundaries of tectonic provinces, modern uplifts, crustal rifts, and sedimentary basins.