Geophysical Centre in Dourbes
The Geophysical Centre in Dourbes is a fundamental and applied Research Centre which is part of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (RMI). Its purpose is the exploration of geophysical phenomena resulting from solar activity, natural and artificial magnetic fields and the magnetic properties of materials, and to utilise these for related applications. The Centre is located in Dourbes (South of Belgium), close to the French border, far from all electric and magnetic disturbances and was inaugurated in 1956 by Professor Edmond Léon LAHAYE, Director of the RMI at that time.
The mission of the Dourbes Geophysical Centre is the continuous observation and study of the following geophysical phenomena and the development of related custom-tailored instrumentation, data products and services:
- Earth's magnetic field in the present and in the past
- Ionospheric activity and its influence on Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
- Cosmic ray intensity
- Solar radio flux
- Magnetotelluric fields
Moreover, the Geophysical Centre in Dourbes is a reference site for the following specific measuring instruments of RMI internal and external
- Climatological park / Automatic weather station
- Lightning detection
- Seismometers
- Gravimeters and gravity balances
- Instrumentation for meteoroide monitoring (sky cameras, radars)
- Air pollution
- Radioactivity