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Magnetometers are a key component of heliophysics research providing valuable insight into the dynamics of electromagnetic field regimes and their coupling throughout the solar system. On satellites, magnetometers provide detailed observations of the extension of the solar magnetic field into interplanetary space and of planetary environments. At Earth, magnetometers are deployed on the ground in extensive arrays spanning the polar cap, auroral and sub-auroral zone, mid- and low-latitudes and equatorial electrojet with nearly global coverage in azimuth (longitude or magnetic local time—MLT). These multipoint observations are used to diagnose both ionospheric and magnetospheric processes as well as the coupling between the solar wind and these two regimes at a fraction of the cost of in-situ instruments. Despite their utility in research, ground-based magnetometer data can be difficult to use due to a variety of file formats, multiple points of access for the data, and limited software. In this short article we review the Open-Source Python library GMAG which provides rapid access to ground-based magnetometer data from a number of arrays in a Pandas DataFrame, a common data format used throughout scientific research. 

Abstract We report on observations of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves and their interactions with injected ring current particles and high energy radiation belt electrons. The magnetic field experiment aboard the twin Van Allen Probes spacecraft measured EMIC waves nearL = 5.5–6. Particle data from the spacecraft show that the waves were associated with particle injections. The wave activity was also observed by a ground‐based magnetometer near the spacecraft geomagnetic footprint over a more extensive temporal range. Phase space density profiles, calculated from directional differential electron flux data from Van Allen Probes, show that there was a significant energy‐dependent relativistic electron dropout over a limitedL‐shell range during and after the EMIC wave activity. In addition, the NOAA spacecraft observed relativistic electron precipitation associated with the EMIC waves near the footprint of the Van Allen Probes spacecraft. The observations suggest EMIC wave‐induced relativistic electron loss in the radiation belt.