Geomagnetic sudden impulses at low latitude during northward interplanetary magnetic field conditions

Abstract

A statistical analysis of geomagnetic sudden impulses has been performed for data acquired at a low‐latitude station during northward interplanetary magnetic field conditions. The local time dependence of the ground response, characterized by very low values in the morning with respect to the afternoon and night sectors and by a clear maximum just after local noon, is very similar to that observed at auroral latitudes, suggesting that signatures of auroral ionospheric currents might be observed also at low latitude. The sense of polarization of the sudden impulses shows a clear reversal from counterclockwise to clockwise a few hours after local noon, consistent with the results obtained for low‐frequency geomagnetic fluctuations at the same station. In some cases a transient response (overshoot) is clearly observed; its amplitude is greater when the corrected Dst index is more negative, that is, when the ring current intensity is stronger; moreover, it tends to occur within 1–2 hours after the closest interplanetary magnetic field northward turning. These results seem to indicate that at our station overshoots characterize sudden impulses occurring a short time after periods with high magnetospheric activity. Since the local field line is embedded in the plasmasphere, the overshoot might tentatively be interpreted in terms of an overcompression of the plasmasphere which, after periods with high magnetospheric activity, is less dense and more elastic.