Abstract
Automated detection of geomagnetic storms is of growing importance to operators of technical infrastructure (e.g., power grids, satellites), which is susceptible to damage caused by the consequences of geomagnetic storms. In this study, we compare three methods for automated geomagnetic storm detection: a method analyzing the first derivative of the geomagnetic variations, another looking at the Akaike information criterion, and a third using multi-resolution analysis of the maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform of the variations. These detection methods are used in combination with an algorithm for the detection of coronal mass ejection shock fronts in ACE solar wind data prior to the storm arrival on Earth as an additional constraint for possible storm detection. The maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform is found to be the most accurate of the detection methods. The final storm detection software, implementing analysis of both satellite solar wind and geomagnetic ground data, detects 14 of 15 more powerful geomagnetic storms over a period of 2 years.
Highlights
Geomagnetic storms are rapid variations in the Earth’s geomagnetic field
Reliability of Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) storm evaluation Of the storms we looked at with the ACE coronal mass ejection (CME) detection method, a total of more than 500 shocks were detected within the solar wind data, out of which 14 of our 15 official shock fronts were correctly detected. (The single false negative here represents a calculated shock arrival time that was 30 min off the actual CME arrival time, which meant it was outside of our acceptance range but could factor into later correct SSC detections.) the number of false positives in this case far outweighs the number of correct detections
We evaluated the false positives found by all methods; three of these could be described as sudden impulses, rapid increases in field strength resulting from a minor CME shock in the solar wind that did not result in a storm
Summary
Geomagnetic storms are rapid variations in the Earth’s geomagnetic field They are the result of clouds of charged particles from the sun interacting with our magnetosphere. These storms are commonly split into three phases (Tsurutani and Gonzalez 1997): an initial phase with a sudden increase in field strength (sudden storm commencement or SSC), the main phase with a decrease in field strength and periods of rapid field variations, followed by a recovery phase as the geomagnetic field gradually returns to its normal strength.
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