NOAA has announced that Monarch Magnetics will produce HDGM and HDGM-RT going forward. Explore HDGM2027
Monarch Magnetics

Applications

Magnetic information for high-accuracy operations.

Monarch supports directional drilling, magnetic navigation, and geomagnetic observation and monitoring.

Discuss a requirement Explore directional drilling

Primary application

A more complete magnetic picture for wellbore positioning.

Magnetic surveying uses Earth's magnetic field to determine wellbore direction. Accurate positioning therefore depends on knowing the field at the well location and at the time of the survey—not only the large-scale reference field, but also local crustal structure and time-varying external-field effects.

Monarch's HDGM, IFR1, and IFR2 products address these contributions as a coherent operational stack, with uncertainty and validation used to quantify confidence in the result.

Terrain-grounded vertical cross-section through a Permian Basin IFR1 declination-correction field with an illustrative planned well, neighboring existing well, and growing position-uncertainty envelope.
Local magnetic structure and wellbore-position uncertainty. IFR1 declination correction through a terrain-grounded 8 km Permian Basin section, with an illustrative planned well, neighboring existing well, and growing position-uncertainty envelope. The spatial variation shows why local crustal-field correction matters for high-accuracy magnetic surveying and safe well separation. Field values are shown only below terrain. Terrain: satellite-derived elevation data. Regional magnetic data: USGS. Wellpaths and planned-well uncertainty envelope are illustrative; existing-well uncertainty is not shown. The uncertainty envelope is not an IFR1 model output.

Directional-drilling stack

Different sources of magnetic error require different information.

1

HDGM

Reference field

Provides the high-resolution global magnetic reference used in magnetic surveying.

Explore HDGM2027
2

IFR1

Local crustal refinement

Adds regional crustal magnetic structure not resolved by the reference field alone.

Explore IFR1
3

IFR2

Time-varying correction

Accounts for magnetic-field changes with time, including external and space-weather effects.

Explore IFR2
Uncertainty + validation Confidence in the magnetic reference environment depends on knowing how well each contribution is characterized and validated.

Broader applications

Magnetic navigation.

Magnetic navigation uses spatial variations in Earth's magnetic field as a reference for positioning. The quality of that reference depends on the resolution and accuracy of the magnetic map, the treatment of time-varying fields, and a clear understanding of uncertainty.

Monarch's high-resolution modeling, regional mapping, correction, and validation capabilities can support magnetic-navigation reference environments and related technical requirements.

Discuss a MagNav requirement
Oblique magnetic-navigation reference volume extending from the seafloor to 10 km altitude, with an aircraft, submerged UUV, and magnetic-field layers that become smoother with altitude.
Magnetic information through the navigation volume. Concept illustration of a magnetic-navigation volume extending from the seafloor to 10 km altitude. HDGM provides the global reference field, local crustal-field refinement captures spatial magnetic structure through the operating volume, and SWC provides time-varying correction, including the conductive Earth and ocean response.Magnetic anomaly is schematic and upward-continued with altitude. Bathymetry: NOAA ETOPO 2022. Aircraft and UUV are illustrative. Vertical dimension exaggerated for clarity.

Broader applications

Geomagnetic observation & monitoring.

Monarch supports geomagnetic observation projects through consulting and ready-to-use technical capabilities, drawing on deep experience with measurement requirements, observing systems, data quality, and the use of observations in geomagnetic field models and operational products.

Depending on the project, Monarch can advise on observing-system requirements or provide an integrated observation capability—from instrument selection and network design through deployment, data acquisition, telemetry, quality control, and incorporation of the observations into operational geomagnetic products.

Discuss an observation or monitoring requirement

Contact

Talk with Monarch about your magnetic-field requirements.

Tell us where you are operating, what magnetic information you need, and how it will be used. We can help identify the appropriate model, correction, validation, or measurement approach.

Contact Monarch contact@monarchmag.com
Monarch MagneticsBoulder, Colorado, USA