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SPACE WEATHER, VOL. 4, S06001, doi:10.1029/2005SW000200, 2006

On the geomagnetic effects of solar wind interplanetary magnetic structures

E. Echer

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Avenida dos Astronautas, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil


W. D. Gonzalez

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Avenida dos Astronautas, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil


M. V. Alves

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Avenida dos Astronautas, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil


Abstract

We present in this work a statistical study of the geoeffectiveness of the solar wind magnetic interplanetary structures over the entire observational period (1964–2003). The structures studied were magnetic clouds (MCs, 170 events), corotating interaction regions (CIRs, 727 events) and interplanetary shocks (830 events). The geoeffectiveness was assessed in terms of the geomagnetic index Kp, AE, and Dst peak values within 2 days after the interplanetary structure had passed near Earth's orbit. Frequency distributions were obtained that give the probability of every interplanetary structure being followed by intense, moderate, weak, or quiet (none) magnetic activity levels. The knowledge of probability distribution is important in schemes to forecast space weather conditions after the detection, by in situ solar wind observations, of an interplanetary structure approaching Earth. We observed that magnetic clouds are more efficient than shocks or CIRs in producing all the geomagnetic activity disturbances; CIRs are themselves more geoeffective as measured by the AE activity. We have confirmed that compound structures (shocks plus MCs) are more geoeffective in every type of magnetospheric activity than isolated structures.

Received 19 September 2005; accepted 2 February 2006; published 7 June 2006.

Keywords: magnetosphere; solar wind; space weather.

Index Terms: 2134 Interplanetary Physics: Interplanetary magnetic fields; 2784 Magnetospheric Physics: Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions; 2788 Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetic storms and substorms (7954); 7954 Space Weather: Magnetic storms (2788).

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Citation: Echer, E., W. D. Gonzalez, and M. V. Alves (2006), On the geomagnetic effects of solar wind interplanetary magnetic structures, Space Weather, 4, S06001, doi:10.1029/2005SW000200.