University of Calgary researchers find northern sensor array also has military value

CALGARY – Researchers at the University of Calgary’s space weather network have attracted the attention of Canada’s military, the U.S. Navy and NATO with their eyes on the sky.

They run 22 ground-based, high-frequency remote sensors — resembling big metal umbrellas — are strung across Canada and in the northern United States, and monitor the near-Earth space environment.

Susan Skone, professor in the Department of Geomatics Engineering, said the sensors are important to study space, but also support real-time systems important in northern defence, natural resource exploration and telecommunications.

She said the sensors can determine what disruptions are naturally occurring and what might be caused by people.

“That allows us to detect jamming, spoofing, other forms of anomalous behavio