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Jeffrey J. Love

I am a Research Geophysicist in the Geomagnetism Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). My research has encompassed a variety of subjects related to the Earth’s magnetic field.

These days, I work in collaboration with colleagues on three subjects: 1. Using geomagnetic monitoring data and magnetotelluric survey data to evaluate geoelectric hazards of concern to the electric-power grid industry. 2. Statistical analysis of the rare occurrences of extremely intense magnetic storms. 3. Analysis of historical records of past space-weather events and their impacts.

Research theme: Geomagnetic Hazards

Magnetic storms; Solar-terrestrial interaction; Magnetotellurics; Induced geoelectric fields; Space climatology; Geophysical monitoring; Rare, extreme, historical geophysical events; Earthquake prediction; Hypothesis testing; Time series analysis; Statistical analysis

Professional Experience

  • USGS, Golden, CO, Research Geophysicist, Advisor for Geomagnetic Research, 2006 - Present

  • Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Universite Paris Diderot, France, Visiting Professor, September 2015

  • Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Universite Paris Diderot, France, Visiting Research Scientist, October 2012

  • USGS, Golden, CO, Supervisory Research Geophysicist, Geomagnetism Group Leader, 20

Education and Certifications

  • Harvard University, Geophysics, Ph.D. 1993

  • University of California, Berkeley, Physics and Applied Mathematics, A.B. 1985

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Space Weather Operations Response and Mitigation (SWORM) of the National Science and Technology Council, 2015 - Present

  • Electromagnetic Pulse Research and Development (EMPRAD) of the National Science

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 18
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

March 17, 2015 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of March 17, 2015
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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March 17, 2015 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of March 17, 2015
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

June 23, 2015 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of June 23, 2015
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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June 23, 2015 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of June 23, 2015
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

August 25, 2018 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of August 25, 2018
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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August 25, 2018 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of August 25, 2018
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

February 19, 2014 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of February 19, 2014
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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February 19, 2014 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of February 19, 2014
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

September 12, 2014 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of September 12, 2014
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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September 12, 2014 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of September 12, 2014
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

October 1, 2012 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of October 1, 2012
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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October 1, 2012 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of October 1, 2012
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

June 1, 2013 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of June 1, 2013
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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June 1, 2013 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of June 1, 2013
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

January 23, 2012 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of January 23, 2012
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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January 23, 2012 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of January 23, 2012
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

February 14, 2011 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of February 14, 2011
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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February 14, 2011 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of February 14, 2011
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

September 26, 2011 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of September 26, 2011
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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September 26, 2011 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of September 26, 2011
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Pink and greenish yellow lights in the night sky

April 5, 2010 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of April 5, 2010 and the Galaxy 15 satellite
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program
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April 5, 2010 Magnetic Disturbance

Space Weather Events of April 5, 2010 and the Galaxy 15 satellite
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USGS

Overview

Space climatology is concerned with longer-term changes in the space environment that are driven almost entirely by changes in solar output.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center
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Overview

Space climatology is concerned with longer-term changes in the space environment that are driven almost entirely by changes in solar output.
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Voltages measured on long grounded electrically conducting lines in North American during several magnetic storms, 1891-1940

Presented is a list of voltages (electric potential differences) measured during magnetic storms on grounded long lines in the United States and Canada between 1891 and 1940. The sources for the list are published papers, technical documents, and newspapers. Each entry consists of the maximum voltage measured for each storm on a specified line connecting two ground points, nominally...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

North American electricity power-grid and communication-network anomalies for several magnetic storms

Anomaly lists are presented documenting operational interference to electricity power grids and communication networks in the United States and Canada during magnetic storms. Four of the anomaly lists apply for magnetic storms that occurred in March 1989, August 1972, March 1940, and for various storms 1946-2000; yet another list consists of statistical values summarizing geomagnetically...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

The International Geomagnetic Reference Field, 2005

This is a set of five world charts showing the declination, inclination, horizontal intensity, vertical component, and total intensity of the Earth's magnetic field at mean sea level at the beginning of 2005. The charts are based on the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) main model for 2005 and secular change model for 2005-2010. The IGRF is referenced to the World Geodetic...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center
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Filter Total Items: 89

The solar cycle, geology, and geoelectric hazards for power grids

When sunspots are large and numerous, intense magnetic storms are likely to occur on the Earth. Magnetic storms can generate electric fields in the Earth, and these fields can, in turn, interfere with electric power transmission grids that are grounded at the Earth’s surface. Across the contiguous United States, geoelectric hazards are highest in the Upper Midwest and in the East. These...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Steven Sobieszczyk, E. Joshua Rigler, Anna Kelbert, Kristen A. Lewis
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Challenging ring-current models of the Carrington storm

A detailed analysis is made of horizontal-component geomagnetic-disturbance data acquired at the Colaba observatory in India recording the Carrington magnetic storm of September 1859. Prior to attaining its maximum absolute value, disturbance at Colaba increased with an e-folding timescale of 0.46 hr (28 min). Following its maximum, absolute disturbance at Colaba decreased as a trend...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Kalevi Mursula
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

On the uncertain intensity estimate of the 1859 Carrington storm

A study is made of the intensity of the Carrington magnetic storm of September 1859 as inferred from visual measurements of horizontal-component geomagnetic disturbance made at the Colaba observatory in India. Using data from modern observatories, a lognormal statistical model of storm intensity is developed, to characterize the maximum-negative value of the storm-time disturbance index...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, H. Hayakawa, Kalevi Mursula
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

The March 1940 superstorm: Geoelectromagnetic hazards and impacts on American communication and power systems

An analysis is made of geophysical records of the 24 March 1940, magnetic storm and related reports of interference on long-line communication and power systems across the contiguous United States and, to a lesser extent, Canada. Most long-line system interference occurred during local daytime, after the second of two storm sudden commencements and during the early part of the storm's...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Michael D Hartinger, Greg M. Lucas, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Mapping a magnetic superstorm: March 1989 geoelectric hazards and impacts on United States power systems

A study is made of the relationships between geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation, Earth-surface impedance, and operational interference (anomalies) experienced on electric-power systems across the contiguous United States during the March 13-14, 1989 magnetic storm. For this, a 1-minute-resolution sequence of geomagnetic field maps is constructed from magnetometer time series...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, E. Joshua Rigler, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Down to Earth with nuclear electromagnetic pulse: Realistic surface impedance affects mapping of the E3 geoelectric hazard

An analysis is made of Earth-surface geoelectric fields and voltages on electricity transmission power-grids induced by a late-phase E3 nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A hypothetical scenario is considered of an explosion of several hundred kilotons set several hundred kilometers above the eastern-midcontinental United States. Ground-level E3 geoelectric fields are estimated by...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua Rigler, Anna Kelbert
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Magnetotelluric sampling and geoelectric hazard estimation: Are national-scale surveys sufficient?

At present, the most reliable information for inferring storm-time ground electric fields along electrical transmission lines comes from coarsely sampled, national-scale magnetotelluric (MT) data sets, such as that provided by the EarthScope USArray program. An underlying assumption in the use of such data is that they adequately sample the spatial heterogeneity of the surface...
Authors
Benjamin Scott Murphy, Greg M. Lucas, Jeffrey J. Love, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua Rigler
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Extreme-event magnetic storm probabilities derived from rank statistics of historical Dst intensities for solar cycles 14-24

A compilation is made of the largest and second-largest magnetic-storm-maximum intensities, −Dst1 and −Dst2, for solar cycles 14–24 (1902–2016) by sampling Oulu Dcx for cycles 19–24, using published −Dstm values for 4 intense storms in cycles 14, 15, and 18 (1903, 1909, 1921, 1946), and calculating 15 new storm-maximum −Dstm values (reported here) for cycles 14–18. Three different models...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Geomagnetic monitoring in the mid-Atlantic United States

Near historic battlegrounds of the American Civil War, southeast of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on a secluded grassy glade surrounded by forest, a specially designed observatory records the Earth’s changing magnetic field. This facility, the Fredericksburg Magnetic Observatory, is 1 of 14 observatories the U.S. Geological Survey Geomagnetism Program operates at various locations across the...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Kristen A. Lewis
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geomagnetism Program, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Numerical simulations of the geospace response to the arrival of an idealized perfect interplanetary coronal mass ejection

Previously, Tsurutani and Lakhina (2014, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GL058825) created estimates for a “perfect” interplanetary coronal mass ejection and performed simple calculations for the response of geospace, including . In this study, these estimates are used to drive a coupled magnetohydrodynamic-ring current-ionosphere model of geospace to obtain more physically accurate...
Authors
Daniel T. Welling, Jeffrey J. Love, E. Joshua Rigler, Denny M. Oliveira, Colin M. Komar, Steven Morley
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center

On the size of the flare associated with the solar proton event in 774 AD

The 774 AD solar proton event (SPE) detected in cosmogenic nuclides had an inferred >1 GV (>430 MeV) fluence estimated to have been ~30–70 times larger than that of the 1956 February 23 ground level event (GLE). The 1956 GLE was itself ~2.5 times larger at >430 MeV than the episode of strong GLE activity from 1989 August–October. We use an inferred soft X-ray (SXR) class of X20 ± 10 for...
Authors
Edward W. Cliver, H. Hayakawa, Jeffrey J. Love, D. F. Neidig
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Geologic Hazards Science Center

Geomagnetism Program research plan, 2020–2024

The Geomagnetism Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors geomagnetic field variation through operation of a network of observatories across the United States and its territories, and it pursues scientific research needed to estimate and assess geomagnetic and geoelectric hazards. Over the next five years (2020–2024 inclusive) and in support of national and agency priorities...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Love, Anna Kelbert, Benjamin Scott Murphy, E. Joshua Rigler, Kristen A. Lewis
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Geomagnetism Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center
Preparing the Nation for Intense Space Weather

Preparing the Nation for Intense Space Weather

While major geomagnetic storms are rare, with only a few recorded per century, there is significant potential for large-scale impacts when they do...

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Getting Down to Earth with Space Hazards

Getting Down to Earth with Space Hazards

Magnetic storms can interfere with the operation of electric power grids and damage grid infrastructure. They can also disrupt directional drilling...

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Aurora Borealis Painting Pays Tribute to Civil War’s End

Aurora Borealis Painting Pays Tribute to Civil War’s End

USGS explores the meaning behind Frederic Edwin Church's 1865 painting, “Aurora Borealis.”

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Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government

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