Space Weather Canada
Regional Warning Centres

The GSC National Geomagnetism Program operates Regional Warning Centre (RWC) Canada of the International Space Environment Service (ISES,formerly IUWDS), which is jointly sponsored by IUGG and URSI.

ISES coordinates a global network of observing platforms that monitor a wide variety of parameters that help to characterize the phenomena on the SUN, in space between the Sun and Earth, and in the near-earth space known as the magnetosphere and ionosphere. Data are exchanged globally, and are used by the Regional Warning Centres, and others, to develop warnings and alerts of solar, ionospheric, and geomagnetic disturbances that may have deleterious effects on activities on Earth or in space. Collectively, the various phenomena are known as "Space Weather".

Large geomagnetic disturbances are commonly known as magnetic storms if global in scale, or magnetic substorms if localized in scale and limited to night-time high latitude auroral regions. These geomagnetic hazards have impacts on technologies such as electric power utilities, pipeline operations, radio communications, navigation, satellite operations, geophysical exploration and the GPS (global positioning system).

By combining information relating to the Sun's activity, the state of the interplanetary space, and the past and current conditions of the Earth's magnetic field, a number of algorithms are used to arrive at forecasts of future magnetic field conditions.