The ionospheric Sq current system obtained by spherical harmonic analysis

Abstract

AbstractAn earlier comprehensive analysis of geomagnetic tides by Winch is revisited to display changes in the current systems with season and longitude. The data used come from the quiet Sun years 1964–1965. We choose to present some total equivalent current systems, being the sum of the external and internal parts derived in the spherical harmonic analysis. The latitudes and local times of the current system foci are generally in agreement with other workers. The amplitudes of the current system vortices follow an annual variation with maximum in summer. The longitude variations of the vortex amplitudes vary as the inverse of the magnetic field strength at both equinoxes but have different variations at the solstices. Other longitude maxima which have been reported in the equatorial electrojet intensity were not found. We examine in detail the “invasions” of the summer current systems across the equator, identifying these as signatures of field‐aligned currents (FACs). The tilting of current contours with respect to the equator is interpreted as being due to midday FACs. As others have found, the identification of afternoon FACs is more difficult. The seasonal swap‐over of FAC directions occurs not in September but in October–November.