Eskdalemuir Observatory
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The Eskdalemuir Observatory is located near Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built in 1904, its remote location was chosen to minimise electrical interference with geomagnetic instruments, which were relocated there from Kew Gardens in 1908 after the advent of electrification in London led to interference with instruments.
The distinguished meteorologist and mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson served as Superintendent at the Observatory between 1913 and 1918.
The observatory currently monitors:
- Climatological data;
- Solar radiation;
- Atmospheric pollution;
- Geomagnetic fields; and
- Seismological data.
The observatory's seismometers form part of the international network serving the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which allows covert nuclear tests to be detected via their seismic signatures.
In the early evening of 21 December 1988, the observatory's seismometers recorded the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103, which exploded over the nearby town of Lockerbie in an event registering 1.6 on the Richter scale.
It is presently managed by the British Geological Survey.
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[edit] Sources
A Scientific Workshop Threatened by Applied Science: Kew Observatory to Be Removed Owing To The Disturbance Caused by Electic Traction, The Illustrated London News, August 8th 1903
