## 1 Introduction  
Monitoring the magnetic field and the status of the ionosphere in Antarctica is an important issue for the contribution it yields to modeling a number of aspects concerning the geophysical sciences. Geomagnetic observatories are ground-based stations aimed at monitoring the natural magnetic field over time (typically for as many years as possible) in a fixed location. Data from observatories reveal the magnetic field variations in a wide range of time scales, from seconds to centuries, which is important for understanding processes both inside and outside the Earth. The final data, produced after thorough processing, is published and made available to the scientific community. The Livingston Island Geomagnetic Observatory which has the three-letter code LIV given by the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA), is part of a global network currently having more than 170 active geomagnetic observatories all over the world. LIV is managed by the Ebre Observatory Institute (EO) in Spain, and, because of its remoteness, it is a partly manned observatory, meaning that it is attended by the scientific and technical staff only a part of the year, typically from December to February, coinciding with the austral summer. Although the data from our station has been used in different studies, ranging from regional plate tectonics [1] to characterization of the regional solar quiet (Sq) variation [2], it is difficult to single out its specific contribution in general terms. However, data of the global network are currently used to model different aspects of old and new disciplines related to geomagnetism, including main field modeling [3], with applications to navigation and cartography; investigation of the internal structure of the Earth's crust, upper mantle and oceans [4, 5]; upper atmospheric and magnetospheric sciences [6]; or Space Weather studies [7], with practical implications in technological systems and for human society in general, such as those related to geomagnetically-induced currents (GICs) [8], just to cite a few. The ionospheric exploration by vertical incidence soundings is one of the most commonly used technique to infer the vertical structure of the ionosphere to the maximum of ionization [9, 10] and references therein. A correct interpretation of the records obtained by vertical incidence soundings provides information on the electron density as a function of height above the geographic area where exploration takes place. Installing this type of system in the Antarctic Spanish Station Juan Carlos I (ASJI) is of great interest to the experimental observation related to Solar Terrestrial Physics and Space Weather because it monitors the sub-auroral zone, because the effects on the ionized atmosphere caused by solar and geomagnetic activity are more important in regions near the auroral zone than at mid-latitudes, and because there is a gap in this type of observations in those remote regions. The geophysical observatory of the ASJI in Livingston Island (62 deg39'46''S, 60 deg23'20''W) started in December 1996 with the current geomagnetic station, though new instrumentation has gradually been added up to fulfill the evolving standards of observation. A Vertical Incidence Sounder, VIS, with their emitting and receiving antennas and their control electronics was installed in the ASJI under the framework of the Spanish project REN2003-08376-C02 during the Antarctic summer survey 2004-2005, completing the geophysical observatory in that remote region. The relative low density of geophysical data around the Antarctic (see Figure 1) gives our observatory an added value, with data that otherwise should be obtained by other means, such as marine and aeromagnetic surveys, or satellite data. Besides their different characteristics and objectives, however, these latter types of data lack the fundamental feature of persistence in the long term.