Peculiarities of geomagnetic variations in the central part of the Russian platform

The instrumental observations of geomagnetic variations in the middle latitudes are analyzed. The main periodicities are revealed in the background local variations of the magnetic field of the Earth. Besides the 27–29-day variations, which are associated with the rotation of the Sun around its axis, also the harmonic components with periods of ～1, 6–8, 13–14, 57–60 days, and about a year are identified. It is shown that the periodicities in the background variations are both regular and sporadic. The peculiarities in the time behavior of some spectral components of geomagnetic variations are established.     

Local geomagnetic field variations of external origin: A case study of Armenia

A method is proposed for studying variations in the local geomagnetic field of external origin that are associated with variations in the electrical conductivity at various depths of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. The application of the method is illustrated with the example of study of time series of geomagnetic data obtained in Armenia during 1986–1992. The method is effective for identifying the geodynamically most active areas in regions studied.     

Long-term variations of solar magnetic fields derived from geomagnetic data

There are limited homogeneous instrumental observations of the sunspot magnetic fields, but the Earth is a sort of a probe reacting to interplanetary disturbances which are manifestation of the solar magnetic fields. We find correlations between some parameters of geomagnetic activity (the geomagnetic activity “floor”—the minimum value under which the geomagnetic activity cannot fall in a sunspot cycle, and the rate of increase of the geomagnetic activity with increasing sunspot number), and sunspot magnetic fields (the sunspot magnetic field in the cycle minimum, and the rate of increase of the sunspot magnetic field from cycle minimum to cycle maximum). Based on these correlations we are able to reconstruct the sunspot magnetic fields in sunspot minima and maxima since sunspot cycle 9 (mid 19th century).     

V_r:A new index to represent the variation rate of geomagnetic activity

By calculating the hourly standard deviation of the first-order differences of the horizontal geomagnetic component minute data,a new index Vr to represent the variation rate of the geomagnetic field was introduced.Vr-indices show similar trends in the temporal change at different observatories and have simultaneous peak values at the observatories covering a large span geographically,which reveals that the source of geomagnetic disturbances represented by Vr is in the magnetosphere.Based on the comparison among Vr,Kp and ap,it is found that generally Vr changes linearly with Kp and ap,which means that the rapid changes of magnetic field usually exist together with magnetic disturbances.But there are exceptions.As Vr can be easily produced by individual observatory in quasi real time and is more sensitive to the variation rate of geomagnetic field rather than the field itself,it can be expected to serve for monitoring or predicting the geomagnetic-induced event in a quick and intuitive way.     

A history of the early recording of geomagnetic variations

As pulsations and circulating currents are caused by solar activity, a short survey is given of how to recognise solar influences on terrestrial magnetism, and particularly the hypotheses of Balfour Stewart and the two treatises of Arthur Schuster about the daily variations. In meteorology and geomagnetism, photographic self-registering equipment was developed in Greenwich and Kew; E. Mascart and M. Eschenhagen continued this line. With the help of his “Feinregistriergerät” (quick-run magnetograph) Eschenhagen could for the first time record pulsations more precisely. Through short-time simultaneous observations suggested by him, the course of a terrestrial magnetic disturbance could be pursued. This disturbance was identified by A. Schmidt in 1899 as a moving circulating current in the upper layer of the atmosphere.     

Method for determining the geomagnetic activity index based on wavelet packets

A method for determining quiet daily variations (Sq curve) in automatic mode and calculating the K index of geomagnetic activity based on wavelet packets has been proposed. The method makes it possible to reproduce the Bartels technique and includes the separation of geomagnetic signal informative components, determination of geomagnetic field disturbances, and the formation of quiet daily variations. The method effectiveness was proved experimentally.     

日本鹿屋台地磁静日变化中可能存在的震磁效应

１９９６年１０月１９日日本九州宫崎（Ｍｉｙａｚａｋｉ）发生７．１级地城,城中距鹿层地磁台约９０ｋｍ。利用Ｓｑ单台Ｚ／Ｈ法分析了１９８１～１９９８年鹿屋台与佘山台的资料,再研究两台视深比随时间的变化,结果表明,地震前一年多时间内视深化出现较大的负异常,同期的佘山与武汉台的视深比曲线未出现类似的异现象。因此,上述异常可能与宫崎地震有关。     

Variations in the ULF index of geomagnetic pulsations during strong magnetic storms

The level of wave geomagnetic activity in the morning, afternoon, and nighttime sectors during strong magnetic storms with Dst varying from ?100 to ?150 nT has been statistically studied based on a new ULF wave index. It has been found out that the intensity of geomagnetic pulsations at frequencies of 2–7 mHz during the magnetic storm initial phase is maximal in the morning and nighttime sectors at polar and auroral latitudes, respectively. During the magnetic storm main phase, wave activity is maximal in the morning sector of the auroral zone, and the pulsation intensity in the nighttime sector is twice as low as in the morning sector. It has been indicated that geomagnetic pulsations excited after substorms mainly contribute to a morning wave disturbance during the magnetic storm main phase. During the storm recovery phase, wave activity develops in the morning and nighttime sectors of the auroral zone; in this case nighttime activity is also observed in the subauroral zone.     

Long-term variations in geomagnetic and solar activities and secular variations of the geomagnetic field components

Summary After the removal of the eleven-year periodicity, long-term patterns of the aa indices of geomagnetic activity and of Wolf's sunspot numbers are defined. The positions of maxima and minima exhibit the same regularities as the secular variations of the geomagnetic filed components. This result is associated with the motion of the Sun round the barycentre of the solar system.Presented at symposium Planet 88, Tihany, September 1988.     

Variations in the ULF index of daytime geomagnetic pulsations during recurrent magnetic storms

A new index of wave activity (ULF index) is applied to analyze daytime magnetic pulsations in the Pc5 range (f = 2–7 mHz) during ten successive recurrent magnetic storms (CIR (corotating interaction region) storms) of 2006. The most intense daytime geomagnetic Pc5 pulsations on the Earth’s surface in all phases of CIR storms are predominantly observed in the pre-noon sector at latitudes higher than 70°, while those in CME storms (storms initiated by coronal mass ejection (CME)) are observed at latitudes lower than 70°. A comparison of wave activity during CIR and CME storms has shown that the amplitude of Pc5 pulsations in CIR storms is much smaller than that in CME storms and the spectrum maximum is observed at lower frequencies and higher latitudes. At the same time, the mechanism of ULF wave generation during both types of magnetic storms seems to be similar, namely, resonance of magnetic field lines due to the development of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability caused by an approach of a high-velocity solar wind stream to the Earth’s magnetosphere. Since resonance oscillations are excited only in the closed magnetosphere, the higher-latitude position of the Pc5 pulsation intensity maximum in CIR storms points to larger dimensions of the daytime magnetosphere during CIR storms as compared to CME storms.     

Tidal components of geomagnetic variations

The natural geomagnetic field is constantly disturbed. The total registered effect of geomagnetic variations depends on both planetary and local processes. Planetary sources and sources in the Earth’s core respond to tidal effects. In the accepted model, the complex MHD processes in the Earth’s outer core are approximated by the assumed ring current in the equatorial plain of the liquid core. The geomagnetic variation originating as a result of tidal deformations of ring currents are ～10^?4 and 0.10–1 nT in the liquid core and magnetosphere, respectively. The calculated values coincide in order of magnitude with the processed geomagnetic measurements at Paratunka observatory (Kamchatka region).     

Estimating external magnetic field differences at high geomagnetic latitudes from a single station

Providing an accurate estimate of the magnetic field on the Earth's surface at a location distant from an observatory has useful scientific and commercial applications, such as in repeat station data reduction, space weather nowcasting or aeromagnetic surveying. While the correlation of measurements between nearby magnetic observatories at low and mid‐latitudes is good, at high geomagnetic latitudes () the external field differences between observatories increase rapidly with distance, even during relatively low magnetic activity. Thus, it is of interest to describe how the differences (or errors) in external magnetic field extrapolation from a single observatory grow with distance from its location. These differences are modulated by local time, seasonal and solar cycle variations, as well as geomagnetic activity, giving a complex temporal and spatial relationship. A straightforward way to describe the differences are via confidence intervals for the extrapolated values with respect to distance. To compute the confidence intervals associated with extrapolation of the external field at varying distances from an observatory, we used 695 station‐years of overlapping minute‐mean data from 37 observatories and variometers at high latitudes from which we removed the main and crustal fields to isolate unmodelled signals. From this data set, the pairwise differences were analysed to quantify the variation during a range of time epochs and separation distances. We estimate the 68.3%, 95.4% and 99.7% confidence levels (equivalent to the 1σ, 2σ and 3σ Gaussian error bounds) from these differences for all components. We find that there is always a small non‐zero bias that we ascribe to instrumentation and local crustal field induction effects. The computed confidence intervals are typically twice as large in the north–south direction compared to the east‐west direction and smaller during the solstice months compared to the equinoxes.     

Gabriel graph of geomagnetic Sq variations

This paper describes the pattern of geomagnetic solar quiet day, Sq, variations recorded at the Indian geomagnetic observatories. The extent to which the high and low latitude ionosphere is interlinked electromagnetically during periods of quiet geomagnetic conditions is a point of debate. The concept of Gabriel graph is applied to derive the boundaries for the variations of horizontal, vertical, and declination components of the earth’s magnetic field during geomagnetically quiet periods. Data of the six Indian geomagnetic observatories (Alibag, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Pondicherry, Visakapatnam, and Trivandrum) are considered for this analysis. This graph theoretical model is complementary to the classical data analysis techniques. Analytical method and the results of the analysis are presented in the paper.     

A stratified core motion inferred from geomagnetic secular variations

An examination of the westward drift of the geomagnetic field indicates that the drift velocity is almost independent of latitude, suggesting a uniform rigid rotation of spherical shape. When the geomagnetic field is separated into standing and drifting components and expressed in a spherical harmonic series, a lack of sectorial terms is noted in the standing field. It is shown that these features are well explained by a stratified core model.The core is supposed to be stratified near the surface where toroidal fluid motions are predominant. In the deeper part, the fluid motion is two-dimensional, forming Taylor columns. A simplified core model is assumed to represent these features, in which the core is divided into two parts, an outer spherical shell that rotates westwards at a uniform rate of 0.3° y^?1 and a central sphere in which the two-dimensional columnar motions reside. The toroidal motions in the outer spherical interact with the dipole field to induce the drifting field, whereas the columnar motions generate the standing field through interaction with a toroidal field. It follows that a small velocity as 5 × 10^?3 cm s^?1 for the stratified motion is sufficient to create the observed drifting field.     

Seasonal variations in the occurrence of geomagnetic storms

Seasonal variations in the onset of magnetic storms are investigated. For the purposes of this study storms have been defined as events in which Dst falls below -50 nT for at least four consecutive hours. The storms have been classified as either storm sudden commencements (SSCs; storms initiated by a sudden commencement) or as storm gradual commencements (SGCs; all other storms). It is found that the semi-annual variation of magnetic activity is reflected in the occurrence statistics of SGC events only, indicative that the solar wind origin is different for SSCs and SGCs. It is suggested that the heliospheric latitude model of seasonal magnetic activity is relatively ineffective in modulating the previously observed seasonal variations in the occurrence of magnetic storms.     

Regional features of the geomagnetic field secular variations

The secular variations in the geomagnetic field have been studied based on the satellite vector magnetic survey. A high data accuracy made it possible to estimate the spatial and temporal characteristics of different variation types on the interval 1980–2007. The growth and decomposition of midlatitude foci have been qualitatively estimated, and the structure and velocity of a drifting equatorial anomaly have been determined.     

Types of variations in the geomagnetic field spectrum

The purpose of archaeomagnetic research is to investigate the structure of the geomagnetic field and its evolution. This paper is a study of this type. In our preceding studies, we divided the geomagnetic field into dipole and nondipole components. It was then shown that the dipole component consists of the predominant 1200-yr variation and the remainder δ. The δ variation is the subject of this paper. Detailed study and comparison of the characteristic features of two 1200-yr variations (the dipole and δ variations) in both the declination and inclination indicates that, according to most of their features, they can be assigned to different types of waves, namely, traveling waves (the dipole variation) and standing waves (the δ variation). Successive averaging in time and space yielded averaged data on δI and δD not only for various parts of the world (Europe, Asia, and America) but also for the western and eastern hemispheres.