Statistical study of ULF wave occurrence in the dayside magnetosphere

Abstract

Ultralow‐frequency (ULF) waves are observed almost everywhere in the dayside magnetosphere. The mechanism by which these waves are generated and transformed in the dayside magnetosphere is still not understood. Here we report a statistical study of these waves based on magnetic field data from the ISEE 1 spacecraft. Data from the first traversal of the spacecraft through the entire dayside magnetosphere have been examined to determine the spatial distribution of wave occurrence. Successive 20‐min segments of data were transformed to a field‐aligned coordinate system. The parallel component was detrended and all three components of the field spectrally analyzed. Wave occurrence was defined by the presence of significant peaks in the power spectra. Wave events were categorized by three wave frequency bands: Pc 3 with T∼10‐45 s; Pc 4 with T∼45‐150 s; the short‐period part of the Pc 5 wave band with T∼150‐324 s. Properties of the spectral peaks were then entered into a data base. The data base was next sorted to determine the spatial occurrence pattern for the waves. Our results show that Pc 3 waves most frequently occur just outside synchronous orbit and are approximately centered on local noon. Pc 4 waves have a similar distribution with its peak further out. Pc 5 waves have high occurrence rate at the two flanks of the magnetosphere. Peaks in spectra obtained near the magnetopause are less clearly defined than those deeper in the magnetosphere.