Seasonal Variation of High-Latitude Geomagnetic Activity in Individual Years

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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Date
2017-11-21
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Language
en
Pages
14
10,058–10,071
Series
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Volume 122, issue 10
Abstract
We study the seasonal variation of high-latitude geomagnetic activity in individual years in 1966-2014 (solar cycles 20-24) by identifying the most active and the second most active season based on westward electrojet indices AL (1966-2014) and IL (1995-2014). The annual maximum is found at either equinox in two thirds and at either solstice in one third of the years examined. The traditional two-equinox maximum pattern is found in roughly one fourth of the years. We found that the seasonal variation of high-latitude geomagnetic activity closely follows the solar wind speed. While the mechanisms leading to the two-equinox maxima pattern are in operation, the long-term change of solar wind speed tends to mask the effect of these mechanisms for individual years. Large cycle-to-cycle variation is found in the seasonal pattern: equinox maxima are more common during cycles 21 and 22 than in cycles 23 or 24. Exceptionally long winter dominance in high-latitude activity and solar wind speed is seen in the declining phase of cycle 23, after the appearance of the long-lasting low-latitude coronal hole.
Description
Keywords
Decadal time scales, Geomagnetic activity, Seasonal variation, Solar cycle-to-cycle variation, Solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, Sun-Earth coupling
Other note
Citation
Tanskanen , E I , Hynönen , R & Mursula , K 2017 , ' Seasonal Variation of High-Latitude Geomagnetic Activity in Individual Years ' , Journal of geophysical research: Space physics , vol. 122 , no. 10 , pp. 10,058–10,071 . https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JA024276