Geomagnetic Storms are a Problem in the Gulf of Mexico, Too…

Summary

At SHA 2016, evidence was presented, and subsequently published, demonstrating that strong magnetic field perturbations resulting from Earth-directed solar events can adversely affect marine archaeological survey. Survey and observatory magnetometer data from mid-latitude regions confirmed the immediate onset of geomagnetic storms and the fast compression of the magnetopause, creating a short-duration, high amplitude spike in Earth’s magnetic field that appears similar to the signature of an archaeological anomaly. Aggressive processing, analysis, and comparison of single instrument, total field marine magnetometer datasets was unable to isolate and remove the storm sudden onset signature. This paper builds on that work by presenting analysis of additional datasets collected from a low latitude region in the Gulf of Mexico. Recommendations will be made for marine magnetic data collection and processing methods that may adequately account for geomagnetic storms, allowing for improved precision in analytical interpretation and thus improved identification and management of archaeological resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Setbacks and Solutions Within Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 536