Very quiet intervals of geomagnetic activity and the solar wind structure

Extended periods of very low geomagnetic activity as described by very quiet intervals (VQI's) occur only at those times when the solar wind velocityV has a generally decreasing trend, i.e., they mainly occur either after the velocity peak of a high speed solar stream has passed the Earth, or at times when the Earth is immersed in a low speed solar plasma provided that the daily mean value ofdV/dt is negative. The VQI's most frequently start whendV/dt<0 anddB_Z/dt>0 (B_Z is the geocentric solar magnetrospheric-GSMZ-component of the IMF) and end most likely whendV/dt>0 anddB_Z/dt<0. The temporal trends of the solar wind (SW) velocity affect the variation of thea_p index only when the level of geomagnetic activity is generally low.It is suggested that a gradual expansion or contraction of the magnetosphere, associated with a slow variation of the SW pressure, plays a role in the modification of the reconnection-driven magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) fluctuations in the magnetosphere.