Geomagnetic dipole coordinate system (cartesian)

prefLabel
  • Geomagnetic dipole coordinate system (Cartesian)
definition
  • Geomagnetic dipole coordinate system in Cartesian representation (x, y, z), origin at the centre of the Earth. The Z-axis is parallel to the Earth's dipole and points to the north, the X-axis is within and the Y-axis perpendicular to the plane spanned by the magnetic dipole and the Earth rotation axis. The orientation of the Y-axis is given by the vector product "rotational axis times dipole axis". Because of its dependence on the geomagnetic dipole axis it varies with the secular variation and must therefore always be specified together with the epoch.
altLabel
  • MAG Cartesian
topConceptOf
inScheme