High latitude solar magnetic fields

We use Kitt Peak magnetograms to measure polar magnetic fields. The polar mean absolute field increases at the same time as the polar mean field decreases. That is, the polar mean absolute field varies in phase with solar activity, in contrast to the out of phase variation of the mean polar field. We find that the polar fields have a large bipolar component even at solar minimum, with a magnitude equal to that found at low latitudes outside the active latitude bands.