Tiny tutorial: CrowdMag flight mode

CrowdMag is a citizen science project that uses your mobile phone's internal magnetometer to record magnetic fields as you move around outside. The CrowdMag app now has a flight mode where you can collect magnetic data while you fly. Airplane observations fill in a large gap in magnetic data. Satellites can capture the biggest shapes of the magnetic field, and ground based observations can capture the smallest, but scientists aren’t able to capture observations between those extremes without airplanes. Help contribute to this project the next time you fly!

To use CrowdMag in your neighborhood, check out our original CrowdMag tiny tutorial! Learn more about Earth's magnetic fields from the NOAA Geomagnetism group.

The CrowdMag app was created by the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Animated tiny tutorial on the Crowdmag app using the flight mode option from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Details on frames below.
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Below, you can go through each step at your own pace.

Screenshot of CrowdMag app in the Apple App store. Text reads, Download the CrowdMag mobile application from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
Step 1: Download the CrowdMag mobile application from Google Play or the Apple App Store. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Screenshot of CrowdMag settings screen with flight mode toggle button circled. Text reads, After boarding your flight, and before the takeoff, set your phone to its airplane mode. Then go to CrowdMag, settings and turn the flight-mode on.
Step 2: After boarding your flight, and before the takeoff, set your phone to its airplane mode. Then go to CrowdMag, settings and turn the flight-mode on. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Screenshot of flight mode details screen with a fillable flight number, and start and end airports. Text reads, Enter flight details from your boarding pass. Edit the estimated flight-time if needed. The app automatically turns off recording after the flight duration.
Step 3: Enter the flight details (three-letters codes for start and end airports and flight number) in the pop-up menu. The app provides an estimate of the flight duration based on the great circle distance and average flight speed. The app doesn’t know about weather conditions, such as the current position of the jet stream, so it is a good idea to check your actual estimated flight time and update it in the app. Tap submit. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Screenshot of expected flight route and screenshot of graph with expected data from flight. Text reads, You will see map of the expected route + graph of expected data. just before takeoff, tap the button to start recording.
Step 4: You will see a map of the expected route and tap “graph” to see the expected magnetic field variations along your route. You have not yet started recording. When the flight is taxiing for takeoff, tap the “Take Off” button to start recording. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Photo of phone sitting on an airplane tray table with CrowdMag flight mode open. Text reads, While flying: Do not charge the phone, Keep it in one location (sleeve, tray, pocket), Try to minimize the phone usage.
Step 5: While flying, keep the phone in the same location, if possible. We have had the best results when keeping it in a shirt pocket or in your stowed carry-on bag away from any metal objects. You can also try placing it in the seatback pocket in front of you (but don’t forget to collect it at the end of the flight!) or on your tray table. Do not charge the phone. Try to minimize the usage if you can. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Screenshot of flight data pop up summary including a graph and map. Text reads, After landing: Turn off recording if the recording is still running, Optionally share the pop-up summary, The flight data will be sent automatically to NOAA.
Step 6: After landing, turn off the recording if the app hasn’t done that already. Optionally share the pop-up summary of measurements. The data will be automatically sent to NOAA to help with their science. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Screenshot of flight data recordings and screenshot of summary of map tracking flight. Text reads, After recording, go to "Magtivity" and select the flight-data. You may toggle between the graph and map. Does your magnetic data follow WMM in the graph? Tap dots in the map to display magnetic values.
Step 7: After recording, go to “Magtivity” and select the flight-data. On the map, tap each dot to see the magnetic data. Blue dots indicate areas with a lower magnetic field value. Red dots indicate a higher magnetic field value. On the graph, the gray line shows the expected magnetic values. Does your magnetic data follow the WMM? This example shows data we collected on a flight from Denver (DEN) to Cancun, Mexico (CUN). The overall trend of the data is a good match to the predicted magnetic field based on satellite data models. About mid-way through the flight there is a big “glitch” in the data - this happened when we got up out of our seat for a few minutes. (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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Screenshot of setting to export data. Text reads, Tap “Settings,” then “Export my data” to export your data" to export your data. You can email the data in a CSV format.
Step 8 (optional): Tap “Settings,” then “Export my data” to export your data. You can email the data in a CSV format. You might want to email it to yourself or a friend so you can analyze it yourself (for example, read it into Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets). (Image credit: NCEI/NOAA Education)
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