Research Objectives:
The South American Meridional B-field Array (SAMBA) is a of ground-based longitudinal magnetometer chain extending from low latitudes to mid-latitudes. This project will extend the existing chain into Antarctica. Two magnetometers will be placed, one at Palmer Station and the other at Patriot Hills, a remote Chilean summer-only station. The autonomous installation at Patriot Hills will be accomplished with the logistical support of the Chilean Antarctic Institute.
The main scientific goals are the study of ULF (ultra low frequency) waves and the remote sensing of mass density in the inner magnetosphere during geomagnetically active periods. The expansion of the array will
+ Increase the spatial resolution of existing cusp-to-cusp chains,
+ Extend the number of conjugate pairs of stations between the northern and southern hemisphere thus increasing the size of the inner magnetospheric region that can be remotely monitored from the two hemispheres, and
+ Establish an auroral latitude station conjugate to the Canadian Poste de la Baleine station in order to study conjugate differences of substorms and general auroral activity.
