XXth IAGA Workshop

The XX IAGA Workshop was held at the Vassouras Magnetic Observatory in Brazil between October 31 and November 6, 2024. This meeting brought together 92 participants from 35 countries and was very productive, particularly among experienced researchers and young students.

The workshop showed intensified collaboration between the different levels aimed at better understanding and facilitating new scientific approaches to meet the challenges of better understanding in the study of the Earth's magnetic field and near-Earth space. 

The scientific program included conferences, thematic sessions, panel discussions and poster presentations. Among the main topics covered were:

    - Magnetic observatories and data processing techniques
    - Geomagnetic instrumentation
    - Geomagnetic field monitoring and modeling
    - Effects of space weather on satellites and technological systems
    - Interactions between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere

It has established itself as one of the most prestigious global forums for exchanging knowledge and presenting innovative research. In this edition of the IAGA Workshop on Geomagnetic Observatory, the Organizing Committee invited several instrument developers who also took part in the discussions, providing enlightening views on the state of the art in measuring the Earth's field and on the future prospects of these technologies.

In this edition, the workshop offered 8 summer schools. Of these, five were held at the hotel hosting the workshop and three at the magnetic observatory in Vassouras, located just 350 meters from the Observatory.

Thus, the 2024 meeting was a valuable opportunity for young researchers who were able to present their work and establish connections with the global scientific community on a larger scale. It also brought visibility to the advances made by different institutions in the areas of geomagnetism, geomagnetic data, instrumentation and space weather.

In addition, the presentations highlighted the growing importance of research into solid Earth geomagnetism and aeronomy in these times of great advances in space weather-sensitive technologies, such as GPS navigation systems, satellite communication networks and the effects on electricity transmission networks, among others. With 92 participants from all over the globe, the XXth IAGA Workshop reinforced the increase in international scientific collaboration and consolidated Vassouras as a reference point for global scientific discussions.

After the Vassouras part, the National Observatory hosted a meeting of the INTERMAGNET (International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network) management committee in Rio de Janeiro, an event that usually takes place after the IAGA meetings and brought together leaders in the geomagnetism sector for technical and scientific meetings on November 7 and 8.

- Luiz Benyosef

Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee

Luiz Benyosef is a full researcher at the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology, National Observatory, Geophysics Coordination. He was researcher in charge of the Vassouras Magnetic Observatory between 1986 and 1992. He works on the development of fluxgate magnetic sensors. He teaches the masters' and doctorate courses in geophysics in the subjects: Geomagnetism, geophysical instrumentation and space weather.

IAGA 2025 Travel Grant Submission Open

The International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) will have a joint conference with the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) next year from 31st August to 5th September in Lisbon, Portugal. It will be preceded by a week long summer school organised by the two associations for early career researchers in their respective fields. 

The call for travel grants is now open until 12th March 2025 and the successful candidates will be notified by 17th April 2025. The registration opens in January 2025 and the candidates provided support should be registered by 8th May 2025. The grant covers the registration fees and/or the living expenses. More details and the form can be found here. 

All information, new and old will be regularly posted on our blog page including many outreach sessions planned. Stay tuned for more info to start preparing for the upcoming conference! You can see the list of blogs related to the assembly by visiting this webpage.

Web series: Grand Spectrum

Katia Pinheiro, from IAGA, won the IAGA Grant for her project "A magnetic journey: from core to space" awarded in the year 2023.

The project features experienced scientists addressing the Geomagnetic Grand Spectrum and discussing about the time variations of the geomagnetic field. This will be presented as a web series and may interest the general public and students in Earth Sciences. 

In a second part of this project, we have interviews with Early-Career Scientists (ECS) during the 6th IAGA Summer School in Niemegk about themselves and their science. We hope these short movies will encourage young students to start careers in geosciences. 

You can now watch the first part of this project: the Grand Spectrum web series on the IAGA YouTube channel with videos being uploaded every week. This will be followed by the second part in the new year. Keep a look out at our social media channel to know when we upload new videos and subscribe to our YouTube for more. And don't forget to share!