Statistical Study of the Characteristics of Isolated Bursts of Midlatitude <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pi</Emphasis>2 Geomagnetic Pulsations

The characteristics and interplanetary excitation conditions of isolated bursts of Pi2 geomagnetic pulsations observed during the development of magnetospheric substorms (substorm Pi2) and in its absence (nonsubstorm Pi2) on the night side of the Earth are comparatively analyzed. It is shown that, regardless of the local time and season, the amplitude of isolated Pi2 substorm bursts is always higher than that of the nonsubstorm ones, and the periods and duration of the wave packets of substorm Pi2 bursts are less than those of nonsubstorms. Diurnal and seasonal variations in the characteristics of the two groups of Pi2 bursts differ in the form and position of maxima and minima. It is found that the start of excitation of isolated Pi2 bursts, during substorms and in its absence, is controlled by the preferred direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) vector perpendicular to the Sun–Earth line (angle θ_xB = arccos(B_x/B) → 90°). It is assumed that isolated Pi2 bursts of both groups are triggered by reorientation of the IMF vector in the ecliptic plane and the plane perpendicular to it ~15 min before their onset. The most likely source of midlatitude isolated Pi2 bursts during substorm development and in its absence are bursty bulk flows (BBFs) in the plasma sheet of the magnetospheric tail, the regularities of which coincide in many respects with the observed features of Pi2 bursts.     

Polar and high latitude substorms and solar wind conditions

All substorm disturbances observed in polar latitudes can be divided into two types: polar, which are observable at geomagnetic latitudes higher than 70° in the absence of substorms below 70°, and high latitude substorms, which travel from auroral (<70°) to polar (>70°) geomagnetic latitudes. The aim of this study is to compare conditions in the IMF and solar wind, under which these two types of substorms are observable on the basis of data from meridional chain of magnetometers IMAGE and OMNI database for 1995, 2000, and 2006–2011. In total, 105 polar and 55 high latitude substorms were studied. It is shown that polar substorms are observable at a low velocity of solar wind after propagation of a high-speed recurrent stream during the late recovery phase of a magnetic storm. High latitude substorms, in contrast, are observable with a high velocity of solar wind, increased values of the Bz component of the IMF, the Ey component of the electric field, and solar wind temperature and pressure, when a high-speed recurrent stream passes by the Earth.     

Investigation of isolated substorms: Generation conditions and characteristics of different phases

Characteristics of isolated substorms selected by variations in the 1-min values of the AL index are analyzed. The substorms were divided into several types with respect to the behavior of the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) during the expansion phase. The probability of observations of substorms associated with the northward turn of the Bz component of IMF was ~19%, while the substorms taking place at Bz < 0 were observed in 53% of cases. A substantial number of events in which no substorm magnetic activity was observed in the auroral zone after a long (>30 min) period of the southward IMF and a following sharp turn of the Bz component of IMF before the north was detected. The data suggest that a northward IMF turn is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for generating substorms. It has been shown for substorms of the both types that the average duration of the southward IMF to moment T ₀ and the average intensity of the magnetic perturbation in the maximum are approximately the same and amount to ~80 min and–650 nT, respectively. However, for substorms at Bz < 0, their mean duration, including the expansive and recovery phases, is on average 30 min longer than that at a northward turn of IMF. Correlations between the loading–unloading processes in the magnetosphere in the periods of magnetospheric substorms were investigated with different functions that determine the efficiency of the energy transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere. It has been shown that the highest correlation coefficient (r = 0.84) is observed when the function suggested by Newell et al. (2007) is used. It has been detected that a simple function VB _S yields a high correlation coefficient (r = 0.75).     

Analysis of latitudinal distribution of Pi2 geomagnetic pulsations using the generalized variance method

The spatial dynamics of bursts of geomagnetic Pi2-type pulsations during a typical event of a magnetospheric substorm (April 13, 2010) drifting to the pole was investigated using the method of generalized variance characterizing the integral time increment of the total horizontal amplitude of the wave at a given point in the selected time interval. The digital data of Scandinavian profile observations from IMAGE magnetometers with 10-second sampling and data of the INTERMAGNET project observations at the equatorial, middle-latitude and subauroral latitudes with a 1-second sampling were used in the analysis. It was shown that Pi2 pulsation bursts in a frequency band of 8–20 mHz appear simultaneously on a global scale: from the polar to equatorial latitudes with maximum amplitudes at latitudes of the maximum intensity of the auroral electrojet and with a maximum amplitude of geomagnetic pulsations Pi3 within a band of 1.5–6 mHz. The first (left-polarized) intensive Pi2 burst appeared at auroral latitudes several minutes after breakup, while the second (right-polarized) burst occurred 15 min after breakup but at higher (polar) latitudes where the substorm had displaced by that time. The direction of wave-polarization vector rotation was opposite for auroral and subauroral latitudes, but it was identical at the equator and in the subauroral zone. The pulsation amplitude at the equator was maximal in the night sector.     

Wave structure of magnetic substorms at high latitudes

A new type of high-latitude magnetic bays is revealed at geomagnetic latitudes higher than 71°, called ??polar substorms.?? It is shown that polar substorms differ from both classical substorms and high-latitude geomagnetic disturbances of the type of polar boundary intensifications (PBIs). While classical substorms start at latitudes below 67° and then expand poleward, polar substorms start almost simultaneously in the evening-night polar region of the oval. In contrast to PBIs, accompanied by auroral streamers expanding southward, polar substorms are accompanied by auroral arcs quickly traveling northward. It is shown that polar substorms are observed before midnight (20?C22 MLT) under weak geomagnetic activity (Kp ?? 2) during the late recovery phase of a magnetic storm. It is shown that a typical feature of polar substorms is the simultaneous excitation of highly intensive Pi2 and Pi3 geomagnetic pulsations at high latitudes, which exceed the typical amplitude of these pulsations at auroral latitudes by more than an order of magnitude. The duration of pulsations is determined by the substorm duration, and their amplitude decreases sharply at geomagnetic latitudes below ??71°. It is suggested that pulsations reflect fluctuations in ionospheric currents connected with polar substorms.     

Decay of the Dst field of geomagnetic disturbance after substorm onset and its implication to storm-substorm relation

In order to investigate the causal relationship between magnetic storms and substorms, variations of the mid-latitude geomagnetic indices, ASY (asymmetric part) and SYM (symmetric part), at substorm onsets are examined. Substorm onsets are defined by three different phenomena; (1) a rapid increase in the mid-latitude asymmetric-disturbance indices, ASY-D and ASY-H, with a shape of so-called ‘mid-latitude positive bay’; (2) a sharp decrease in the AL index; (3) an onset of Pi2 geomagnetic pulsation. The positive bays are selected using eye inspection and a pattern-matching technique. The 1-min-resolution SYM-H index, which is essentially the same as the hourly Dst index except in terms of the time resolution, does not show any statistically significant development after the onset of substorms; it tends to decay after the onset rather than to develop. It is suggested by a simple model calculation that the decay of the magnetospheric tail current after substorm onset is responsible for the decay of the Dst field. The relation between the IMF southward turning and the development of the Dst field is reexamined. The results support the idea that the geomagnetic storms and substorms are independent processes; that is, the ring-current development is not the result of the frequent occurrence of substorms, but that of enhanced convection caused by the large southward IMF. A substorm is the process of energy dissipation in the magnetosphere, and its contribution to the storm-time ring-current formation seems to be negligible. The decay of the Dst field after a substorm onset is explained by a magnetospheric energy theorem.     

Large Magnetic Storm on September 7–8, 2017: High-Latitude Geomagnetic Variations and Geomagnetic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pc</Emphasis>5 Pulsations

The features of daytime high-latitude geomagnetic variations and geomagnetic pulsations in the Рс5 range during the recent, large, two-stage magnetic storm of September 7–8, 2017 are studied. The discussed disturbances were observed at the recovery phase of the first stage of the storm after the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turned northward. It is shown that the large sign-alternating variations in Ву and Bz components of the IMF caused intense geomagnetic disturbances up to 300–400 nT with a quasi-period of ~20 min in the daytime sector of polar latitudes, probably in the region of the daytime polar cusp. These disturbances may have reflected quasi-period motions of the daytime magnetopause and may have resulted from nonlinear transformation of the variations in the interplanaterary magnetic field in the magnetosheath or in the magnetospheric entry layers. The appearance of high-latitude long-period variations was accompanied by the excitation of bursts (wave packets) of geomagnetic Pc5 pulsations. The onset of Pc5 pulsation bursts often coincided with a sudden northward turn of the IMF. It was discovered for the first time that the development of a “daytime polar substorm,” i.e., a negative magnetic bay in the daytime sector of polar latitudes, led to a sudden termination of the generation of geomagnetic Pc5 pulsations over the entire latitude range in which these oscillations were recorded before the appearance of the daytime bay.     

Variations in the geomagnetic field and auroras during the main phase of a large magnetic storm of November 20, 2003

The substorm characteristics during the main phase of a large magnetic storm of November 20, 2003, are studied based on the data of TV observations of auroras and auroral absorption at Tixie Bay station and at the global network of magnetic stations. The contribution of auroral particles, responsible for the emission of discrete auroras, has been estimated based on an analysis of the spatial-time variations in the auroral luminosity intensity. This contribution accounted for ～40% of the total luminous flux, which is approximately twice as large as was previously observed in substorm disturbances. Responses of the solar wind and IMF parameters in substorms and variations in the magnetic indices, characterizing geomagnetic activity in the northern polar cap and ring current (PCN, ASY-H and SYM-H), have been detected. The spatial-time distribution of the equivalent ionospheric currents has been constructed, and the total value of these currents along the meridian has been determined based on the [Popov et al., 2001] method and using the IMAGE magnetic data. It has been obtained that the maximal total equivalent ionospheric current in the premidnight sector (～2000 MLT) leads the minimal value of the SYM-H index by ～1.5 h.     

High Latitude Magnetic Impulse Events (MIEs): Polarization Peculiarities and Excitation Conditions

Polarization characteristics (polarization type, ellipticity ε, tilt angle τ of the polarization ellipse’s major axis) of high-latitude magnetic impulse events (MIEs) observed at the latitude of the dayside polar cusp are studied. It is established that all impulses are elliptically polarized, being right-polarized in 43% of cases (R-type) and left-polarized in 57% of cases (L-type). The right-polarized MIEs on the ground are more pronounced in the azimuthal direction, whereas the left-polarized events are more clearly marked in the meridional direction. The MIEs of both polarization types have the properties of intermittent processes. It is shown that diurnal and seasonal variations in the occurrence frequency and amplitudes of the events depend significantly on the type of their polarization. The R- and L-type impulse events are predominantly observed during the descending and ascending phase of the solar cycle, respectively. Solar wind high-speed streams (HSSs) are more favorable for exciting right-polarized impulses, whereas left-polarized impulse events are more efficiently excited by coronal mass ejection (CME). It is established that R-type impulses emerge in the conditions when the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field vector is close to the radial direction against the development of moderate magnetospheric substorms whereas the L-type impulses appear when IMF is perpendicular to the Sun–Earth line in the absence of substorms. The behavior of the characteristics of impulse events significantly depends on the value of the IMF Bz-component and on the angle θ_xB = arccos(Bx/B). It is conjectured that excitation of the two groups of impulses is caused by the IMF structures in the solar wind stream with the characteristic configuration in the ecliptic plane, which determine the polarization type and properties of MIEs.     

Intermittency in midlatitude Pi2 pulsations observed during magnetospheric substorms and in the absence of these phenomena

The results of studying the distribution character of the amplitudes and time intervals between wave packets of Pi2 geomagnetic pulsations, observed during the nighttime development of magnetospheric substorms and in the absence of these phenomena, have been presented. The analog records from the midlatitude Borok Geophysical Observatory (geographic coordinates φ = 58.03°; λ = 38.97°) for 1995 and 1997 have been used to analyze Pi2 pulsations. Three groups of pulsations have been analyzed: Pi2 observed during sub-storms related to the external impact on the magnetosphere, Pi2 spontaneously originating during substorms, and Pi2 observed in the absence of substorms on the nightside of the magnetosphere. Interplanetary magnetic field B _y and B _z components and the solar wind dynamic pressure (ρV ²) have been considered as possible triggers of magnetospheric substorms. It has been indicated that the distributions of the amplitude and the duration of time intervals between Pi2 bursts are approximated by the power and exponential functions, respectively, which is typical of intermittent processes. The hypothesis that the processes of magnetospheric plasma turbulization can be among the Pi2 pulsation burst sources has been put forward. It is assumed that the obtained characteristic values can be used to qualitatively estimate the degree of plasma turbulence on the nightside of the magnetosphere when a sequence of Pi2 wave packets is excited.     

Effect of solar dynamics parameters on the formation of substorm activity

An algorithm for retrieving the AL index dynamics from the parameters of solar-wind plasma and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) has been developed. Along with other geoeffective parameters of the solar wind, an integral parameter in the form of the cumulative sum Σ[N*V ²] is used to determine the process of substorm formation. The algorithm is incorporated into a framework developed to retrieve the AL index of an Elman-type artificial neural network (ANN) containing an additional layer of neurons that provides an “internal memory” of the prehistory of the dynamical process to be retrieved. The ANN is trained on data of 70 eight-hour-long time intervals, including the periods of isolated magnetospheric substorms. The efficiency of this approach is demonstrated by numerical neural-network experiments on retrieving the dynamics of the AL index from the of solar wind and IMF parameters during substorms.     

Effects of geomagnetic disturbances in daytime variations of the atmospheric electric field in polar regions

We have studied the influence of daytime polar substorms (geomagnetic bays under the IMF Bz > 0) on variations of the vertical gradient of the atmospheric electric field potential (Ez) observed at the Polish Hornsund Station (Svalbard, Norway). Only the observations of Ez under “fair weather” conditions were used, i.e. in the absence of strong wind, precipitations, low cloud cover, etc. We studied more than 20 events of daytime polar substorms registered by the Scandinavian chain of IMAGE magnetometers in 2010–2014 during the “fair weather” periods at the Hornsund Station. Analysis of the observations showed that Ez significantly deviates from the its background variations during daytime, as a rule, when the Hornsund Station is in the region of projection of the daytime auroral oval, the position of which was determined from OVATION data. It was shown that the development of a daytime polar substorm leads to fluctuating enhance of Ez values. It was found that Ez surges are accompanied by intensification of field-aligned electric currents outflowing from the ionosphere, which were calculated from the data of low-orbit communication satellites of the AMPERE project.     

Long-period geomagnetic pulsations in the quasi-conjugate arctic and antarctic regions during the magnetic storm of April 16–17, 1999

Based on the observations in six pairs of almost conjugate high-latitude stations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, the spectral and spatial-temporal structures of long-period geomagnetic pulsations (f = 2–5 mHz) during the magnetic storm of April 16–17, 1999, which is characterized by a high (up to 20 nPa) solar wind dynamic pressure, have been studied. It has been indicated that the magnetic storm sudden commencement is accompanied by a symmetrical excitation of np pulsations near the dayside polar cusps with close amplitudes. Under the conditions when IMF B _z > 0 and B _y < 0, strong magnetic field variations with the periods longer than 15–20 min were observed only in the northern polar cap. When IMF B _z and B _y became close to zero, geomagnetic pulsation bursts in both hemispheres were registered simultaneously but differed in the spectral composition and spatial distribution. In the Northern Hemisphere, pulsations were as a rule observed in a more extensive latitude region than in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the oscillation amplitude maximum was observed at higher latitudes than in the Southern Hemisphere. The pulsation amplitude at geomagnetic latitude lower than 74° was larger in the Arctic Regions than in the Antarctic Regions. This can be explained by sharply different geographic longitudes in the polar cap and latitudes in the auroral zone, which results in a different ionospheric conductivity affecting the amplitude of geomagnetic pulsations.     

Global Pi3 geomagnetic pulsations as a response of large variations in the solar wind and IMF during the magnetic storm of August 5, 2011

Spatial-temporal and spectral features of ground geomagnetic pulsations in the frequency range of 1–5 mHz at the initial phase of a strong magnetic storm of the 24th cycle of solar activity (August 5–6, 2011, with a Dst-variation in the storm maximum of ?110 nT) are analyzed. Large opposite in sign amplitudes of variations in IMF parameters (from ?20 to +20 nT) at a high velocity of the solar wind (～650 km/s) accompanied by intense bursts in solar-wind density (up to ～50 cm^?3) were distinctive feature of interplanetary medium conditions causing the storm. Geomagnetic Pi3 pulsations global in longitude and latitude and in-phase in the middle and equatorial latitudes were found. The onset of pulsation generation was caused by a pulse of dynamic pressure of the solar wind (～20 nPa), i.e., by a considerable compression of the magnetosphere. The maximum (2–3 mHz) in the amplitude spectrum of near-equatorial pulsations coincided with the maximum of pulsations in the daytime polar cap. After the next jump of the dynamic pressure of the solar wind (～35 nPa), an additional maximum appeared in the pulsation spectrum in the frequency band of ～3.5–4.5 mHz. Global pulsations suddenly stopped after a sharp decrease in the solar-wind dynamic pressure and corresponding extension of the magnetosphere. The obtained results are compared with the time dynamics of the position and shape of the plasmapause.     

Interplanetary fast forward shocks and their geomagnetic effects: CAWSES events

The seven CAWSES interplanetary fast forward shocks and their geomagnetic effects during 2004–2005 have been analyzed. It is found that the arrival time of the shocks at Earth can be estimated within an accuracy of ～5 min. Furthermore, AL decreases are found to occur within 10 min of shock impingement on the magnetopause. It was also determined that there is a direct correlation between the interplanetary magnetic field southward directed (IMF B_s) prior to shock arrival and substorms triggered by the shocks. If the IMF is northward prior to shock arrival, the geomagnetic activity is present but is low. One interpretation of this result is that the preconditioning energy stored in the magnetotail leaks away rapidly. A correlation between substorm peak AL and shock strength (Mach number) has also been noted, which could imply that shock strength is important for the amount of energy released into the magnetosphere/ionosphere.     

Morning polar substorms and variations in the atmospheric electric field

The effects of morning magnetospheric substorms in the variations in near-Earth atmospheric electricity according to the observations of the electric field vertical component (E _z ), at Hornsund polar observatory (Spitsbergen). The E _z, data, obtained under the conditions of fair weather (i.e., in the absence of a strong wind, precipitation, and fog), are analyzed. An analysis of the observations indicated that the development of a magnetospheric substorm in the Earth’s morning sector is as a rule accompanied by positive deviations in E _z, independently of the Hornsund location: in the polar cap or at its boundary. In all considered events, Hornsund was located near the center of the morning convection vortex. In the evening sector, when Hornsund fell in the region of evening convection vortex, the development of a geomagnetic substorm was accompanied by negative deviations in E _z., It has been concluded that the variations in the atmospheric electric field E _z), at polar latitudes, observed during the development of magnetospheric substorms, result from the penetration of electric fields of polar ionospheric convection (which are intensified during a substorm) to the Earth’s surface.     

Effect of magnetic storms (substorms) on HF propagation: A review

The manifestations of the so-called main ionospheric effect during geomagnetic storms (substorms) in the character of decameter-wave propagation are analyzed. On HF radio paths, the main effect is observed as variations in the signal amplitude and the MOF-LOF working frequency band similarly to the critical frequency of the ionospheric F2 layer. Specifically, these parameters increase before the disturbance active phase, decrease during the active phase, and increase again after this phase. The propagation outside the great circle arc, the change in the propagation processes, and the HF radio noise behavior were also considered on these paths during storms (substorms). It is assumed that the storm (substorm) development onset can be predicted.     

Particle-precipitation fine structure during the development of substorms at high latitudes

The energy of precipitating particles that cause auroras can be characterized by the ratio of different atom and molecule emissions in the upper atmospheric layers. It is known that the spectrum of precipitating electrons becomes harder when substorms develop. The ratio of the I ₆₃₀₀ red line to the I ₅₅₇₇ green line was used to determine the precipitating-electron spectrum hardness. The I ₆₃₀₀/I ₅₅₇₇ parameter was used to roughly estimate the electron energy in auroral arcs observed in different zones of the auroral bulge at the bulge poleward edge and within this bulge. The variations in the emission red and green lines in auroral arcs during substorms that occurred in the winter season 2007–2008 and in January 2006 were analyzed based on the zenith photometer and all-sky camera data at the Barentsburg and Longyearbyen (LYR) high-latitude observatories. It has been indicated that the average value of the I ₆₃₀₀/I ₅₅₇₇ emission ratio for arcs within the auroral bulge is larger than this value at the bulge poleward edge. This means that the highest-energy electron precipitation is observed in arcs at the poleward edge of the substorm auroral bulge.     

Planetary distribution of geomagnetic pulsations during a geomagnetic storm at solar minimum

We investigate the features of the planetary distribution of wave phenomena (geomagnetic pulsations) in the Earth’s magnetic shell (the magnetosphere) during a strong geomagnetic storm on December 14–15, 2006, which is untypical of the minimum phase of solar activity. The storm was caused by the approach of the interplanetary magnetic cloud towards the Earth’s magnetosphere. The study is based on the analysis of 1-min data of global digital geomagnetic observations at a few latitudinal profiles of the global network of ground-based magnetic stations. The analysis is focused on the Pc5 geomagnetic pulsations, whose frequencies fall in the band of 1.5–7 mHz (T ～ 2–10 min), on the fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and in the solar wind density in this frequency band. It is shown that during the initial phase of the storm with positive IMF Bz, most intense geomagnetic pulsations were recorded in the dayside polar regions. It was supposed that these pulsations could probably be caused by the injection of the fluctuating streams of solar wind into the Earth’s ionosphere in the dayside polar cusp region. The fluctuations arising in the ionospheric electric currents due to this process are recorded as the geomagnetic pulsations by the ground-based magnetometers. Under negative IMF Bz, substorms develop in the nightside magnetosphere, and the enhancement of geomagnetic pulsations was observed in this latitudinal region on the Earth’s surface. The generation of these pulsations is probably caused by the fluctuations in the field-aligned magnetospheric electric currents flowing along the geomagnetic field lines from the substorm source region. These geomagnetic pulsations are not related to the fluctuations in the interplanetary medium. During the main phase of the magnetic storm, when fluctuations in the interplanetary medium are almost absent, the most intense geomagnetic pulsations were observed in the dawn sector in the region corresponding to the closed magnetosphere. The generation of these pulsations is likely to be associated with the resonance of the geomagnetic field lines. Thus, it is shown that the Pc5 pulsations observed on the ground during the magnetic storm have a different origin and a different planetary distribution.     

Characteristics of Pc4–5 pulsations obtained using the method of bistatic backscatter of HF radio waves,the EISCAT HF heating facility,and ground-based magnetometers

The results of studying the Pc4–5 pulsation parameters based on the method of bistatic backscatter of radio waves, using the EISCAT/Heating HF facility (Tromsø, Norway) and IMAGE ground-based magnetometers (Scandinavia), are presented. The observations were performed during the morning hours on October 3, 2006, when a substorm developed on the nightside. An analysis of the observational data obtained from 1000 to 1020 UT indicated that wave-like disturbances with periods corresponding to Pc4–5 pulsations (80–240 s) existed at that time. The variations in the full vector of the ionospheric irregularity motion and the electric field strength in an artificially disturbed high-latitude ionospheric F region has been reconstructed based on simultaneous Doppler observations on two paths. A general conformity is observed among the time variations in Pc4–5 pulsations in the magnetic and ionospheric data: between the velocity amplitude (|V|) and the X component of the Earth’s magnetic field and between the irregularity motion azimuth and the Y component. Large-scale waves, corresponding to the natural resonances of magnetic field lines (small values of the azimuthal number |m| ～ 2–4), and small-scale waves (large values |m| ～ 17–20) were simultaneously registered during the experiment based on magnetic data. It has been indicated that the periods of wave-like processes registered using the method of bistatic backscatter and ground-based magnetometers were in agreement with one another. The formation of wave-like processes is explained by the nonstationary impact of the solar wind and IMF on the Earth’s magnetosphere. The variations in the IMF, according to the ACE satellite measurements, were characterized by a sharp increase in the solar wind plasma dynamic pressure that occurred at about 09 UT on October 3, 2006, and was accompanied by rapid polarity reversals of the north-ward-southward (B _z) and transverse (B _y) IMF components.