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The Eskdalemuir Observatory is a UK national environmental observatory 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 here from 
The distinguished meteorologist and mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson served as Superintendent at the Observatory between 1913 and 1918.
The area has a low background of seismic activity, so is ideal for these measurements.
Shortly after 19:00 GMT on 21 December 1988, the observatory's
Eskdalemuir Observatory operations - BGS website
{{coord, 55, 18, 44, N, 3, 12, 22, W, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1904 Geophysical observatories Meteorological observatories Seismological observatories, organisations and projects Pan Am Flight 103 Category B listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway
Kew Observatory
The King's Observatory (called for many years the Kew Observatory) is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London. Now a private dwelling, it formerly housed an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatory founded by King George III. T ...
in London in 1908 after the spread of electric tramcars led to excessive electromagnetic interference there.
The distinguished meteorologist and mathematician Lewis Fry Richardson served as Superintendent at the Observatory between 1913 and 1918.
Purpose
The observatory is situated in the valley of the White Esk river at an altitude of 242m, and so represents the climate of highland in northern Great Britain. It currently monitors: *Meteorological parameters *Solar radiation *Atmospheric pollution *The UK Geomagnetic field *Seismological activity The observatory is managed by the British Geological Survey and the UK Met Office.Seismic measurements
The area has a low background of seismic activity, so is ideal for these measurements.
Shortly after 19:00 GMT on 21 December 1988, the observatory's seismometer
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...
s recorded the ground impact of Pan Am Flight 103, which crashed into the nearby town of Lockerbie away after being destroyed by a bomb. The event registered 1.6 on the Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
.
There is a second seismic array approximately 3 km north of the main observatory established by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ...
, which has been managed by Güralp Systems Ltd since 2002 on behalf of AWE Blacknest which provides the UK part of the international monitoring network of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This network allows covert nuclear tests to be detected via their seismic signatures. At Eskdalemuir it consists of an array covering 10 square km, consisting of two intersecting lines of 10 pits containing seismometers, a seismological vault and a recording laboratory.
Notable staff
*Dr Arthur Crichton Mitchell superintendent of the observatory 1916 to 1922 *Dr Douglas Haig McIntosh worked here 1953 to 1955.References
External links
Eskdalemuir Observatory operations - BGS website
{{coord, 55, 18, 44, N, 3, 12, 22, W, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1904 Geophysical observatories Meteorological observatories Seismological observatories, organisations and projects Pan Am Flight 103 Category B listed buildings in Dumfries and Galloway