History

INTERMAGNET has its roots in discussions held at the Workshop on Magnetic Observatory Instruments in Ottawa, Canada, in August 1986 and at the Nordic Comparison Meeting in Chambon La Foret, France, in May 1987. A pilot scheme between the United States and British Geological Surveys was described in the sessions of Division V of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy at the XIXth General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Vancouver, Canada, in August 1987. This scheme used the GOES East satellite to successfully transfer geomagnetic data between the two organisations. INTERMAGNET was founded soon after in order to extend the network of observatories communicating in this way. In order to direct the work and oversee the operations of INTERMAGNET, an Executive Council and an Operations Committee were set up. The first Geomagnetic Information Node (GIN) was established in 1991, the first CD-ROM was also published in 1991.