GEOMAGNETISM IN CROATIA - A NEW BEGINNING

The oldest geomagnetic measurements and surveys on the territory of Croatia date from nearly 200 years ago. Despite the fact that geomagnetism was the first branch of geophysics, it was almost totally neglected in Croatia since the Second World War. With the independence gained during the Homeland War, and the establishment of the Republic of Croatia in 1992, the need for the use of geomagnetic data become apparent.

In the year of 2002 several steps were undertaken. Firstly, the Croatian Ministry of Defense launched the geomagnetism project. As a result, a study in which the Faculty of Geodesy aimed to define Croatian Geomagnetic Network and identify the issues to establish it, was prepared.

After that, the other two projects supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Technology started simultaneously, one at the Faculty of Geodesy, and the other at the Faculty of Science.

The objective of the Faculty of Geodesy project is in updating navigation and topographic maps. Thus the effort will be mainly confined to the declination measurements, modelling and charting. For that purpose, Bartington's Declinometer/Inclinometer system (MAG01H single-axis with MAG Probe A, and Zeiss 010B theodolite) was obtained a short time ago. In the following years the plan is to establish Croatian Geomagnetic Network and start with periodic measurements. In doing so, the close cooperation with the Geomagnetic Observatory is essential.

The Observatory is to be established through the another project, led by the Geophysical Institute "A. Mohorovicic" of the Faculty of Science. The goal of the Observatory will be continuous measurement of the geomagnetic field elements, observation and research of the various contributions to the field, and establishment of the base lines. Financial means of the project were sufficient to order the GEMSys (GSM-19D dIdD) vector magnetometer, along with the Overhauser magnetometer.

A new network of stations was established in 2004, see Figure below.