Kiruna Atmospheric and Geophysical Observatory (KAGO)
The main purpose of IRF’s observatory (Kiruna Atmospheric and Geophysical Observatory) activities is to provide society with long, unbroken time series (on time scales of 50-100 years) of measurement data from the ionosphere and the Earth’s magnetic field.
The purpose of recording this data is to increase our understanding of possible long-term changes. Data collection has been ongoing since the 1950s. Furthermore, the data from the observatory can also provide schools, the public and other interested parties with information about aurora (northern lights) and magnetic activity.
The data from all of IRF’s measuring instruments is available online. Continuous measurements are made of the Earth’s magnetic field, aurora, cosmic radio noise and properties of the ionosphere.
Data collection takes place with the help of the following instruments:
- All-sky-camera in Kiruna
- Infrasound measurement stations in Kiruna, Lycksele, Jämtön and Sodankylä (Finland)
- Ionosondes in Kiruna, Lycksele and Uppsala
- Magnetometers in Kiruna and Lycksele
- Meteor cameras in Kiruna and Abisko
- Mm-wave radiometer in Kiruna
- Riometers in Kiruna and Lycksele
- Weather station in Kiruna
License agreement for data obtained from Kiruna Atmospheric and Geophysical Observatory at Swedish Institute of Space Physics.