Occurrence and causes of large dB/dt events and AL bays in the pre-midnight and dawn sectorsVisa övriga samt affilieringar
2024 (Engelska)Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics, ISSN 2169-9380, E-ISSN 2169-9402, Vol. 129, nr 10, artikel-id e2024JA032811Artikel i tidskrift (Refereegranskat) Published
Abstract [en]
A necessary condition for the generation of Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GICs) that can pose hazards for technological infrastructure is the occurrence of large, rapid changes in the magnetic field at the surface of the Earth. We investigate the causes of such (Formula presented.) events or “spikes” observed by SuperMAG at auroral latitudes, by comparing with the time-series of different types of geomagnetic activity for the duration of 2010. Spikes are found to occur predominantly in the pre-midnight and dawn sectors. We find that pre-midnight spikes are associated with substorm onsets. Dawn sector spikes are not directly associated with substorms, but with auroral activity occurring within the westward electrojet region. Azimuthally-spaced auroral features drift sunwards, producing Ps6 (10–20 min period) magnetic perturbations on the ground. The magnitude of (Formula presented.) is determined by the flow speed in the convection return flow region, which in turn is related to the strength of solar wind-magnetospheric coupling. Pre-midnight and dawn sector spikes can occur at the same time, as strong coupling favors both substorms and westward electrojet activity; however, the mechanisms that create them seem somewhat independent. The dawn auroral features share some characteristics with omega bands, but can also appear as north-south aligned auroral streamers. We suggest that these two phenomena share a single underlying cause. The associated fluctuations in the westward electrojet produce quasi-periodic negative excursions in the AL index, which can be mis-identified as recurrent substorm intensifications.
Ort, förlag, år, upplaga, sidor
American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2024. Vol. 129, nr 10, artikel-id e2024JA032811
Nyckelord [en]
geomagnetic storms, geomagnetically induced currents, omega bands, substorms, westward electrojet
Nationell ämneskategori
Fusion, plasma och rymdfysik
Identifikatorer
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-230600DOI: 10.1029/2024JA032811ISI: 001321816100001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85205364371OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-230600DiVA, id: diva2:1904010
2024-10-082024-10-082024-10-08Bibliografiskt granskad