Horizontal Component Of Magnetic Field Research Articles

A Carrington-like geomagnetic storm observed in the 21st century

In September 1859 the Colaba observatory measured the most extreme geomagnetic disturbance ever recorded at low latitudes related to solar activity: the Carrington storm. This paper describes a geomagnetic disturbance case with a profile extraordinarily similar to the disturbance of the Carrington event at Colaba: the event on 29 October 2003 at Tihany magnetic observatory in Hungary. The analysis of the H-field at different locations during the "Carrington-like" event leads to a re-interpretation of the 1859 event. The major conclusions of the paper are the following: (a) the global Dst or SYM-H, as indices based on averaging, missed the largest geomagnetic disturbance in the 29 October 2003 event and might have missed the 1859 disturbance, since the large spike in the horizontal component (H) of terrestrial magnetic field depends strongly on magnetic local time (MLT); (b) the main cause of the large drop in H recorded at Colaba during the Carrington storm was not the ring current but field-aligned currents (FACs), and (c) the very local signatures of the H-spike imply that a Carrington-like event can occur more often than expected.

On the Anomalies in ULF Magnetic Field Variations Prior to the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake

There have been reported several papers on the ionospheric F region perturbations prior to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake (EQ) (magnitude 8.0), but it seems that very few reports have been published on the characteristics of ground-based ULF (ultra low frequency) magnetic field variations for this EQ. This paper deals with two different aspects of ground-based ULF magnetic field variations: 1) ULF radiation from the lithosphere, and 2) depression of ULF horizontal magnetic field as a signature of lower ionospheric perturbations. ULF data from two Chinese stations [Chengdu (epicentral distance, 80 km) and Xichang (about 300 km away from the EQ epicenter)] are analyzed, with paying attention to the local nighttime period (LT = 22 h to 02 h, UTC = 14 h to 18 h) in order to avoid man-made noise. We have analyzed powers of the horizontal component (H2), vertical component (Z2), polarization as their ratio (Z2/H2), depression of the horizontal component (as an inverse of horizontal magnetic field component power, 1/H2) and δDep as a variation of depression at a particular frequency of 0.01 - 0.02 Hz (10 - 20 mHz). It is then found that there seems no clear signature of lithospheric ULF radiation. Whilst, the most evident fact is the finding of depression of ULF horizontal magnetic field at Chengdu a few days before the Sichuan EQ, which suggests that the lower ionosphere was perturbed before the EQ. The characteristics of the lower ionospheric perturbations are compared with those of upper ionospheric perturbations reported before.

Solar flares induced D-region ionospheric and geomagnetic perturbations

The D-region ionospheric perturbations caused by solar flares which occurred during January 2010–February 2011, a low solar activity period of current solar cycle 24, have been examined on NWC transmitter signal (19.8kHz) recorded at an Indian low latitude station, Allahabad (Geographic lat. 25.75°N, long. 81.85°E). A total of 41 solar flares, including 21 C-class, 19 M-class and 01 X-class, occurred during the daylight part of the NWC-Allahabad transmitter receiver great circle path. The local time dependence of solar flare effects on the change in the VLF amplitude, time delay between VLF peak amplitude and X-ray flux peak have been studied during morning, noon and evening periods of local daytime. Using the Long Wave Propagation Capability code V 2.1 the D-region reference height (H/) and sharpness factor (β) for each class of solar flare (C, M and X) have been estimated. It is found that D-region ionospheric parameters (H/, β) strongly depend on the local time of flare's occurrence and their classes. The flare time electron density estimated by using H/ and β shows maximum increase in the electron density of the order of ~80 times as compared to the normal day values. The electron density was found to increase exponentially with increase in the solar flux intensity. The solar flare effect on horizontal component (H) of the Earth's magnetic field over an equatorial station, Tirunelveli (Geographic lat., 8.7°N, long., 77.8°E, dip lat., 0.4°N), shows a maximum increase in H of ~8.5% for M class solar flares. The increase in H is due to the additional magnetic field produced by the ionospheric electrojet over the equatorial station.

The numerical simulation on ionospheric perturbations in electric field before large earthquakes

Abstract. Many observational results have shown electromagnetic abnormality in the ionosphere before large earthquakes. The theoretical simulation can help us to understand the internal mechanism of these anomalous electromagnetic signals resulted from seismic regions. In this paper, the horizontal and vertical components of electric and magnetic field at the topside ionosphere are simulated by using the full wave method that is based on an improved transfer matrix method in the lossy anisotropic horizontally stratified ionosphere. Taken account into two earthquakes with electric field perturbations recorded by the DEMETER satellite, the numerical results reveal that the propagation and penetration of ULF (ultra-low-frequency) electromagnetic waves into the ionosphere is related to the spatial distribution of electron and ion densities at different time and locations, in which the ion density has less effect than electron density on the field intensity. Compared with different frequency signals, the minimum values of electric and magnetic field excited by earthquakes can be detected by satellite in current detection capability have also been calculated, and the lower frequency wave can be detected easier.

Analysis of double-step response to an interplanetary shock in the dayside magnetosphere

Abstract. We present an analysis of double-step magnetic field enhancement caused by interplanetary (IP) shock impacts on the Earth's magnetosphere. The structures were observed by the GOES-8, 10, 11, and 12 spacecraft in the dayside geostationary orbit, particularly during northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The double-step structures, similar to what is observed in the ground horizontal magnetic field (H) component at low and mid latitudes, were observed preferentially on the dayside. Structures observed around 12–15 magnetic local time (MLT) displayed the steepest initial enhancement step, followed by a magnetic field strength decrease before the second enhancement step. At other dayside MLTs of the geostationary orbit, the initial response was smoother, and no decrease was observed before the second step. We suggest that this MLT asymmetry in the decrease of the total magnetic field is caused by the pushing of the plasmaspheric ions over the geostationary orbit due to the magnetospheric compression.

Interference effects of aircraft on earth's electromagnetic response at very low frequency and low frequency

ABSTRACTOver the last few decades, very low frequency electromagnetics has been widely and successfully applied in mineral exploration and groundwater exploration. Many radio transmitters with strong signal‐to‐noise ratios are scattered in the very low frequency band and low frequency band. Based on experiences gained from ground measurements with the radio‐magnetotelluric technique operating in the frequency interval 1–250 kHz, broadband magnetometers have been used to cover both very low frequency (3–30 kHz) and low frequency (30–300 kHz) bands to increase the resolution of the near‐surface structure. The metallic aircraft as a conductive body will distort the magnetic signal to some extent, and thus it is important to investigate aircraft interference on the electromagnetic signal. We studied noise caused by rotation of an aircraft and the aircraft itself as a metallic conductive body with three methods: 3D wave polarization, determination of transmitter direction and full tipper estimation. Both very low frequency and low frequency bands were investigated. The results show that the magnetic field is independent of the aircraft at low frequencies in the very low frequency band and part of the low frequency band (below 100 kHz). At high frequencies (above 100 kHz), the signals are more greatly influenced by the aircraft, and the wave polarization directions are more scattered, as observed when the aircraft turned. Some aircraft generated noise mixed with radio transmitter signals, detected as ‘dummy’ signals by the 3D wave polarization method. The estimated scalar magnetic transfer functions are dependent on the aircraft flight directions at high frequencies, because of aircraft interference. The aircraft eigenresponse in the transfer functions (tippers) between vertical and horizontal magnetic field components was compensated for in the real part of the estimated tippers, but some unknown effect was still observed in the imaginary parts.

Annual variations of the amplitude characteristic of the noise magnetic field in the ELF frequency range based on the results of high-latitude observations

The annual variation of a number of amplitude characteristics of the noise electromagnetic field in the frequency range near the first Schumann resonance (and in particular the mean values of the modulus of horizontal magnetic components and parameters of the distribution function of noise pulses over amplitudes) was obtained and analyzed based on the results of three-year measurements performed at the high-latitude magnetic observatory Lovozero. The summer increase in mean and median values of the magnetic component of noises associated with electrical storms and the lack of annual variations of the exponent that empirically describes the distribution of amplitudes of noise signals were found. The relationship between the seasonal (winter/summer in the northern hemisphere) increase in the mean value of the modulus of the horizontal magnetic field component and seasonal increase in the global number of lightning discharges is shown by the correlation of the results of satellite observations and measurements of the magnetic component.

Prediction of horizontal component of earth's magnetic field over Indian sector using neural network model

Present work is the first attempt to predict horizontal component of earth's magnetic field (H) and range in H (ΔH) over Indian sector by considering the stations, namely, Trivandrum, Pondicherry, Visakhapatnam, and Nagpur, using the concept of neural network (NN). Through training procedure, solar flux (F10.7), latitude, longitude, day of the year, local time, Ap index, IMF Bz, and ion number density are identified as the optimum choice of input parameters, whereas the inclusion of solar wind pressure and velocity has not significantly improved the performance of the model. Thus an appropriate neural network model, NSSHC has been developed with 12 hidden neurons and 500 iterations to predict H component and range in H (ΔH) during the period 1996–2001, to capture diurnal, seasonal, latitudinal, magnetic and solar activity effects.

Development of a Schumann-resonance station in Mexico: Preliminary measurements

Here, we present preliminary results obtained from a station that monitors the Schumann resonance between ~0 Hz and 50 Hz. The station is currently under development in Mexico (latitude 19° 48' 19 N, longitude 101° 41' 39 W). This station is the first of its kind in the region that includes Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. The station has two inductive antennas, one for each horizontal magnetic field component. We measured Schumann Resonance harmonics at 7.74, 14.11 and 20.22 Hz. We present the frequency and amplitude behavior of the first three Schumann Resonance harmonics between 00:00 and 08:00 LT along several days during April, 2012.

Pi2 pulsation simultaneously observed in the E and F region ionosphere with the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar

AbstractWe investigated Pi2 pulsations in the nightside ionosphere that began at 14:15 UT (2315 LT) on 11 July 2010, and they were observed with high‐temporal (8 s) resolution by beam 4 of the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) Hokkaido radar. These pulsations were simultaneously observed in both the ground/sea scatter echoes reflected from the F region height and in ionospheric echoes from field‐aligned irregularities in the sporadic Es region. They had the same period of 110 s and approximately no phase lag. From the radar observations and the International Geomagnetic Reference Field model, the amplitude of the eastward (EEW) component of the electric field of the Pi2 pulsations in the ionosphere was estimated ~8.0 mV/m in the F region and ~2.0 mV/m in the E region. Corresponding Pi2 pulsations appeared dominantly in the horizontal northward magnetic field component (H) at nearby ground stations, Moshiri (MSR), St. Paratunka (PTK), and Stecolny (STC), with amplitudes ranging from 6 nT (MSR) to 10 nT (STC). At the dominant frequency of 8.8 mHz, the coherences between H and EEW were high (>0.9), the cross phases of EEW relative to H were −56° and −45°, and the amplitude ratios were 2.7 × 105 m/s and 8.4 × 105 m/s, in the E and F regions, respectively. Based on a comparison of these results with theoretical predictions, we suggest that the concept of a pure cavity mode is not sufficient to explain the combined observations for midlatitude Pi2 waves and that the contribution of an Alfvén waves must be taken in account.

Measuring Earth's Local Magnetic Field Using a Helmholtz Coil

In this paper, I present a low-cost interactive experiment for measuring the strength of Earth's local magnetic field. This activity can be done in most high schools or two-year physics laboratories with limited resources, yet will have a tremendous learning impact. This experiment solidifies the three-dimensional nature of Earth's magnetic field vector and helps reinforce the aspect of the vertical component of Earth's magnetic field. Students should realize that Earth's magnetic field is not fully horizontal (except at the magnetic equator) and that a compass simply indicates the direction of the horizontal component of Earth's magnetic field. A magnetic dip needle compass can be used to determine the angle (known as the “dip angle” or “inclination angle”) measured from the direction in which Earth's magnetic field vector points to the horizontal. In this activity, students will be able to determine the horizontal component of the field using a Helmholtz coil and, knowing the dip angle, the Earth's magnetic field strength can be determined.

Rayleigh-Taylor Instability in Magnetized Plasma

The Rayleigh-Taylor instability in stratified plasma has been investigated in the presence of combined effect of horizontal and vertical magnetic field. The linear growth rate has been derived for the case where plasma with exponential density distribution is confined between two rigid planes by solving the linear MHD equations into normal mode. Some special cases have been particularized to explain the roles the variables of the problem play; numerical solutions have been made and some stability diagrams are plotted and discussed. The results show that, the growth rate depends on the horizontal and vertical components of magnetic field and also depends on the parameter λ*=λLD (λ is constant and LD is the density-scale length). The maximum instability happens at λ*=-0.5 and to get more stability model we select λ* such that it is different than λ*=-0.5. The vertical magnetic field component have a greater effect than the horizontal magnetic field component in the case of large wavelength, while in the case of short wavelength, the horizontal magnetic field components have greater effect than the vertical magnetic field component.

Rayleigh-Taylor Instability of Magnetized Plasma through Darcy Porous Medium

Effects of horizontal and vertical magnetic field components on the Rayleigh-Taylor instability of stratified incompressible plasmas layer of variable density through Darcy porous medium are studied. The basic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) set of equations has been constructed and linearized. Then the linear normalized growth rate is obtained analytically as a function of the physical parameters of the system considered. Numerical calculations have been performed to see the effects of various parameters on the normalized growth rate of Rayleigh-Taylor instability.(For more information,please refer to the PDF.)

Aspects on the origin of the precursory magnetic anomalies of the Mw 6.4 Aquila earthquake

An anomalous behaviour of the scaling exponent derived from the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) of the time series of low frequency variations of the horizontal and vertical magnetic field components has been recently reported as being observed 2 months prior to the Mw 6.3 earthquake on 6 April 2009, close to L’Aquila city, Italy. Here, we suggest a possible physical explanation of this effect based on the experience from similar measurements in Greece. In particular, for example, we compare these observations associated with Aquila earthquake with the ones of the Mw 6.6 earthquake on 13 May 1995 at Kozani-Grevena, Greece where both magnetic field variations and seismic electric signals (SES) were recorded. Almost 1 month before the latter earthquake, anomalous variations in both electric and magnetic field were detected, the time series of that were analysed by means of DFA and led to an exponent close to unity. Similarly, the calculated DFA exponent for the Aquila earthquake time series of the anomalous magnetic field variations 2 months before the main shock was also found close to unity. These results could imply that in the case of Aquila, according to the Maxwell’s laws, one should expect to observe simultaneously with the magnetic signal an associated SES activity, provided that an appropriate station to monitoring the earth’s electric field variations in the same area was available. Hence, it seems that similar underlying non-linear dynamic processes in mechanical and as well as electromagnetic sense, with features of criticality, dominated in both pre-focal areas.

Determining field-aligned currents with the Swarm constellation mission

Field-aligned currents (FAC) are the prime mechanism for coupling energy from the solar wind into the upper atmosphere at high latitudes. Knowing their intensity and distribution is of pivotal importance for the selection of quiet time data at high latitudes to be used in main field analysis. At the same time FACs can be regarded as a key element for studies of magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions. The Swarm satellite constellation, in particular the lower pair, provides the opportunity to determine radial currents uniquely. The computation of FACs from the vector magnetic field data is a straightforward and fast process, applying Ampere’s integral law to a set of four magnetic field values. In this method the horizontal magnetic field components at a quad of measurement points sampled by the two satellites moving side-by-side are interpreted. The presented algorithm was implemented as described here in the Swarm Level-2 processing facility to provide the automatically estimated radial and field-aligned currents. It was tested with synthetic data in the Swarm Level-1b format. The resulting currents agree excellently with the input currents of the synthetic model. The data products are computed along the entire orbits. In addition, the L2 processor calculates also FACs with a 1 Hz time resolution individually from the three single Swarm satellites.

Localized ionospheric disturbance over the earthquake epicentre and modifications of Schumann resonance electromagnetic fields

The impact of seismogenic ionosphere non-uniformity is considered on the Schumann resonance (SR) signals observed both in the vertical electric and two orthogonal horizontal magnetic field components. The model is able to interpret the anomalous signals observed in Japan in possible association with the earthquakes (EQs) in Taiwan. Changes in the SR intensity arise from a localized reduction of the ionosphere over the EQ epicentre. Signals in the regular Earth–ionosphere cavity are described by using the knee model of vertical conductivity profile. It is suggested that pre-seismic and seismic activity lowers the knee altitude by 20 km at the centre of disturbance, and the perturbation has the Gaussian radial dependence in the 1 Mm zone. The diffraction problem in the cavity with a localized disturbance is resolved by using the Stratton–Chu integral equation. The data of Optical Transient Detector are used to model the source distribution. A pronounced modification is obtained in the intensity around the fourth mode frequency in a form of abrupt spectral changes. The model data are found to be similar to observations, and properties of the model seismic anomalies are discussed.

On the influence of DC railway noise on variation data from Belsk and Lviv geomagnetic observatories

Geomagnetic variation data from the observatories in Belsk (BEL, Poland) and Lviv (LVV, Ukraine) significantly suffer from disturbances caused by direct current (DC) electric railways. The aim of this study is to quantify the impact of these disturbances on quantities derived from such data, as the K index of magnetic activity and the induction arrow used in the geomagnetic deep sounding method to indicate lateral contrasts of electric conductivity in the solid earth. Therefore, undisturbed data have been reconstructed by means of a frequency-domain transfer function that relates the horizontal magnetic field components of the observatory to the ones synchronously recorded at a noise-free reference station. The comparison of the K index derived from original and reconstructed data shows an increase of quiet time segments by 29% for LVV and by 14% for BEL due to our noise removal procedure. Furthermore, the distribution of the corrected K indices agrees well with the one from the Niemegk observatory in Germany.

RAPID TRANSITION OF UNCOMBED PENUMBRAE TO FACULAE DURING LARGE FLARES

In the past two decades, the complex nature of sunspots has been disclosed with high-resolution observations. One of the most important findings is the "uncombed" penumbral structure, where a more horizontal magnetic component carrying most of Evershed Flows is embedded in a more vertical magnetic background (Solanki & Montavon 1993). The penumbral bright grains are locations of hot upflows and dark fibrils are locations of horizontal flows that are guided by nearly horizontal magnetic field. On the other hand, it was found that flares may change the topology of sunspots in $\delta$ configuration: the structure at the flaring polarity inversion line becomes darkened while sections of peripheral penumbrae may disappear quickly and permanently associated with flares (Liu et al. 2005). The high spatial and temporal resolution observations obtained with Hinode/ SOT provide an excellent opportunity to study the evolution of penumbral fine structure associated with major flares. Taking advantage of two near-limb events, we found that in sections of peripheral penumbrae swept by flare ribbons, the dark fibrils completely disappear, while the bright grains evolve into faculae that are signatures of vertical magnetic flux tubes. The corresponding magnetic fluxes measured in the decaying penumbrae show stepwise changes temporally correlated with the flares. These observations suggest that the horizontal magnetic field component of the penumbra could be straightened upward (i.e., turning from horizontal to vertical) due to magnetic field restructuring associated with flares, which results in the transition of penumbrae to faculae.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF QUIET-SUN MAGNETIC FIELDS AT DIFFERENT HELIOCENTRIC ANGLES

This paper presents results from the analysis of high signal-to-noise ratio spectropolarimetric data taken at four heliocentric angles in quiet-Sun internetwork regions with the Hinode satellite. First, we find that the total circular and total linear polarization signals vary with heliocentric angle, at least for fields with large polarization signals. We also report changes on the Stokes V amplitude asymmetry histograms with viewing angle for fields weaker than 200 G. Then, we subject the data to a Milne-Eddington inversion and analyze the variation of the field vector probability density functions with heliocentric angle. Weak, highly inclined fields permeate the internetwork at all heliocentric distances. For fields weaker than 200 G, the distributions of field inclinations peak at 90 Degree-Sign and do not vary with viewing angle. The inclination distributions change for fields stronger than 200 G. We argue that the shape of the inclination distribution for weak fields partly results from the presence of coherent, loop-like magnetic features at all heliocentric distances and not from tangled fields within the field of view. We also find that the average magnetic field strength is about 180 G (for 75% of the pixels) and is constant with heliocentric angle. The average vertical andmore » horizontal magnetic field components are 70 and 150 G. The latter (former) is slightly greater (smaller) near the limb. Finally, the ratio between the horizontal and vertical components of the fields ranges from {approx}1 for strong fields to {approx}3.5 for weak fields, suggesting that the magnetic field vector is not isotropically distributed within the field of view.« less

Roald Amundsen's contributions to our knowledge of the magnetic fields of the Earth and the Sun

Abstract. Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) was known as one of the premier polar explorers in the golden age of polar exploration. His accomplishments clearly document that he has contributed to knowledge in fields as diverse as ethnography, meteorology and geophysics. In this paper we will concentrate on his studies of the Earth's magnetic field. With his unique observations at the polar station Gjøahavn (geographic coordinates 68°37'10'' N; 95°53'25'' W), Amundsen was first to demonstrate, without doubt, that the north magnetic dip-pole does not have a permanent location, but steadily moves its position in a regular manner. In addition, his carefully calibrated measurements at high latitudes were the first and only observations of the Earth's magnetic field in the polar regions for decades until modern polar observatories were established. After a short review of earlier measurements of the geomagnetic field, we tabulate the facts regarding his measurements at the observatories and the eight field stations associated with the Gjøa expedition. The quality of his magnetic observations may be seen to be equal to that of the late 20th century observations by subjecting them to analytical techniques showing the newly discovered relationship between the diurnal variation of high latitude magnetic observations and the direction of the horizontal component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF By). Indeed, the observations at Gjøahavn offer a glimpse of the character of the solar wind 50 yr before it was known to exist. Our motivation for this paper is to illuminate the contributions of Amundsen as a scientist and to celebrate his attainment of the South Pole as an explorer 100 yr ago.