Construcción del Observatorio Geomagnético de Mérida, Venezuela

Abstract

A new geomagnetic observatory has been built on Mérida, Venezuela (8° 33’ N, 71° 19’ O, 1755m). The observatory consists of three wood houses free of magnetic materials, two houses of 3 by 3 meters and one of 3 by 6 meters, also has two exter- nal pillars, these facilities are already built. The observatory site is far enough from man-made disturbances and has an horizontal and vertical gradient of less than 1nT/m. the whole construction has been carried out following the recommendations stated in International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) “Guide for magnetic measurements and observatory practice”. It’s worthy of remark that there is 180 geomagnetic observatories worldwide of which only 15 are in Latin America.