Response of the high-latitude polar ionosphere to changes in the orientation of the Poynting vector near the Earth orbit relative to the geomagnetic moment orientation

Abstract

The effect of the mutual orientation of the Poynting vector P of the electromagnetic energy density in the solar wind and the vector M of the Earth’s magnetic moment (taking into account its orbital and diurnal motions) on the geomagnetic activity has been examined for the first time using the measurements of the solar wind parameters on the Earth orbit in 1963–2005. The component Pm of the vector P along the vector M is shown to have a pronounced annual variation with the extrema in November and May and a diurnal variation with the extrema at ∼6 and 18 UT. The phases of the variations are shown to be determined only by the geometric parameters and are independent of the sign of the sector structure of the interplanetary magnetic field. The experimental data on the planetary and high-latitude geomagnetic activity, which is a response to changes in the orientation of P relative to M, are presented. The power of the sources of the electromagnetic energy of the solar wind during strong geomagnetic disturbances is also estimated.