Historical geomagnetic observations from Prague observatory (since 1839) and their contribution to geomagnetic research

Hejda, Pavel; Valach, Fridrich; Revallo, Miloš

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-14-51-2023

Articles | Volume 14, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-14-51-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-14-51-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 14, issue 1

Article

|

04 Apr 2023

Article |

| 04 Apr 2023

Historical geomagnetic observations from Prague observatory (since 1839) and their contribution to geomagnetic research

Pavel Hejda, Fridrich Valach, and Miloš Revallo

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Final revised paper (published on 04 Apr 2023)
Preprint (discussion started on 31 Jan 2023)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

RC1:
'Comment on hgss-2022-13', Susan Macmillan, 09 Feb 2023

A very thorough piece of work which improves confidence in 19th century magnetic field data from Prague observatory. A small number of minor changes are in the attached marked up PDF.

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-13-RC1
- AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Fridrich Valach, 13 Feb 2023
  
  The authors thank Dr. Susan Macmillan for her valuable comments. We will adopt all her suggestions in our new manuscript. As for the reference (Glassmeier 2007), it is included in the text in lines 23 and 24; it is divided between two lines there.
  
  Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-13-AC1
RC2:
'Comment on hgss-2022-13', Domenico Di Mauro, 14 Feb 2023

The manuscript is very interesting because it offers a historical review of the earliest magnetic observations routinely performed in Prague since mid 1800. Many of the initial procedures later led to the practices used today in modern geomagnetic observatories. It is important to recover the history that tells about the first steps taken in this scientific context.
I suggest a few changes which are included in the pdf files attached.

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-13-RC2
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Fridrich Valach, 16 Feb 2023
  
  We would like to thank Dr. Domenico Di Mauro for useful comments and additional information, which we will use in the improved text of the manuscript. We will adopt all the reviewer's comments.
  
  Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-13-AC2
AC3: 'Comment on hgss-2022-13', Fridrich Valach, 14 Mar 2023

We are grateful to the reviewers for their valuable comments. We have revised our manuscript accordingly. We also thank the topical editor for dealing with our manuscript.

In the manuscript with the changes indicated (uploaded as a supplement), all the changes made in response to Reviewer 1 and Reviewer 2 are marked in red and blue, respectively.
Answers to Referee 1
Referee 1:

A very thorough piece of work which improves confidence in 19th century magnetic field data from Prague observatory. A small number of minor changes are in the attached marked up PDF.
Our answer:

The authors thank Dr. Susan Macmillan for her valuable comments. We will adopt all her suggestions in our new manuscript. As for the reference (Glassmeier 2007), it is included in the text in lines 23 and 24; it is divided between two lines there.
Detailed responses to comments provided in hgss-2022-13-RC1-supplement:

(Line numbers given in our answers refer to those in hgss-2022-13-RC1-supplement.)
Line 3: horizontal intensity of

Answer: "the horizontal intensity of" added
Line 8: remove "the"

Answer: Done.
Line 11: "got completely" --> "went"

Answer: Done.
Line 14: remove "already"

Answer: Done.
Line 132: horizontal intensity of

Answer: "the horizontal intensity of the geomagnetic" added
Line 200: be consistent - use decimal point instead of comma

Answer: corrected to decimal point
Line 202: ditto

Answer: corrected to decimal point
Line 302: change position of "also"

Answer: The word "also" has been moved to the indicated position in the sentence.
Line 328: correct "1950.0" to "1850.0"

Answer: Done.
Line 361: reference missing?

Answer:

The reference (Glassmeier 2007) is included in the text in lines 23 and 24.

Answers to Referee 2
Referee 2:

The manuscript is very interesting because it offers a historical review of the earliest magnetic observations routinely performed in Prague since mid 1800. Many of the initial procedures later led to the practices used today in modern geomagnetic observatories. It is important to recover the history that tells about the first steps taken in this scientific context.

I suggest a few changes which are included in the pdf files attached.
Our answer:

We would like to thank Dr. Domenico Di Mauro for useful comments and additional information, which we will use in the improved text of the manuscript. We will adopt all the reviewer's comments.
Detailed responses to comments provided in hgss-2022-13-RC2-supplement:

(Line numbers given in our answers refer to those in hgss-2022-13-RC2-supplement.)
Line 22: at the Brera Astronomical Observatory

Answer: We added the offered information. Thanks.
Line 289: please consider to change "distribution" in configuration

Answer: "distribution" changed to "configuration"
Line 297: intensity is temperature dependent... --> intensity was temperature dependent for the available instruments at that time [nowadays intensity of the magnetic field is obtained by proton procession magnetometers which are not temperature dependent]

Answer: Yes, we agree with the Referee. We have edited the sentence according to the reviewer's advice.
Line 301: Ferro Island, (Canary Islands, Spain)

Answer: The offered information included. Thanks.
Line 326: change "coincide well" --> "are consistent" [they cannot coincide since the seculalar variations change some components of the Earth's magnetic field]

Answer: Done.
Line 328: mistyped? 1850.0?

Answer: We have corrected "1950.0" to "1850.0".
Line 333: in this contest.

Answer: The words "in these events" changed to "in this contest".
Line 338: of

Answer: "from" 3-4 September 1839 corrected to "of" 3-4 September 1839
Line 338: The tracking of such old events represents unique...

Answer: We have used the proposed wording of the sentence. Thanks.
Line 339: topic

Answer: The word "area" changed do "topic".

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/hgss-2022-13-AC3

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload

ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (14 Mar 2023) by Roman Leonhardt

AR by Fridrich Valach on behalf of the Authors (15 Mar 2023) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript

ED: Publish as is (15 Mar 2023) by Roman Leonhardt

AR by Fridrich Valach on behalf of the Authors (15 Mar 2023)

Short summary

Historical observations are important, even for modern science (such as space research). The Clementinum in Prague was one of the first observatories where systematic measurements of the geomagnetic field commenced. We focus on the beginning of these Prague measurements, which were introduced by Karl Kreil in 1839. We describe archived data from that time, some details about the main instrument for observing magnetic storms and the first magnetic mapping in Bohemia.