On the MHD instability of the Earth's magnetopause and its geophysical effects

This paper is concerned with the Kelvin-Helmholtz magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability near the low-latitude boundary layer. It is argued that the instability may be responsible both for viscous interaction of solar wind with the magnetosphere and for generation of surface waves over the range of geomagnetic pulsation frequencies. The influence of the inclination angle of the IMF vector with respect to the Earth-Sun line upon the instability growth-rate value is studied numerically. On the basis of the results the morning maximum of surface waves and of geomagnetic pulsations as well as the dependence of the latter on IMF orientation are discussed.