Extremely low frequency band station for natural electromagnetic noise measurement

A new permanent ELF measurement station has been deployed in Sierra Nevada, Spain. It is composed of two magnetometers, oriented NS and EW, respectively. At 10 Hz, their sensitivity is 19 μV/pT and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 28 dB for a time-varying signal of 1 pT, the expected field amplitude in Sierra Nevada. The station operates for frequencies below 24 Hz. The magnetometers, together with their corresponding electronics, have been specifically designed to achieve such an SNR for small signals. They are based on high-resolution search coils with ferromagnetic core and 106 turns, operating in limited geometry configuration. Different system noise sources are considered, and a study of the SNR is also included. Finally, some initial Schumann resonance measurements are presented in order to validate the performance of the measurement station, including 1 h length spectra, daily variations of resonance amplitudes and frequencies for the different seasons, and a 3 day spectrogram.