Transient magnetic field signatures at high latitudes

We survey GOES 2/5/6 geosynchronous and Huancayo, Peru, ground magnetometer observations at the times of 70 transient (2-10 min) events recorded at South Pole Station, Antarctica. The simultaneous observations indicate that most South Pole events correspond to sudden sharp variations in the equatori...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sibeck, D. G.
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:unknown
Published: 1993
Subjects:
46
Online Access:http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19930039189
Description
Summary:We survey GOES 2/5/6 geosynchronous and Huancayo, Peru, ground magnetometer observations at the times of 70 transient (2-10 min) events recorded at South Pole Station, Antarctica. The simultaneous observations indicate that most South Pole events correspond to sudden sharp variations in the equatorial magnetospheric and low-latitude ground magnetic field. The exceptions occur when the South Pole events have weak amplitudes and/or Huancayo and GOES 2/5/6 are far from local noon. The corresponding features observed at GOES 5 and GOES 6 are generally similar, with a lag indicating antisunward motion. A similar antisunward motion may be inferred from the ground observations themselves. On a case-by-case and statistical basis, the characteristics of the events observed in South Pole ground magnetograms resemble those previously interpreted as sudden impulse and sudden storm commencement signatures at other high-latitude stations. These observations suggest that the transient events at South Pole form part of the magnetospheric and ionospheric response to a sudden change in the fraction of the solar wind dynamic pressure applied to the magnetosphere.