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Geomagnetic Observations and Models pp 183–228Cite as

Geomagnetic Indices

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Part of the book series: IAGA Special Sopron Book Series ((IAGA,volume 5))

Abstract

Geomagnetic indices are a measure of geomagnetic activity, which is a signature of the response of the Earth magnetosphere and ionosphere to solar forcing. They play a significant role in describing the magnetic configuration of the Earth’s ionized environment. In the second half of the twentieth century, they have become a key parameter in Solar Terrestrial studies; in the past 15 years, they have become a key parameter in Space Weather, being commonly used to detect and describe Space Weather events. The objective of this chapter is to contribute to a better understanding of the meaning, usefulness, potential and limitations of geomagnetic indices. Standard geomagnetic indices, as well as some newly introduced quantities are considered. We present for each index, or each index family, a short but complete description of the derivation process and a review of the information that the index may provide on the dynamics of, and on the physical processes that take place in the Earth’s ionized environment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The C figure is the first geomagnetic index defined at an international level: each observer assigned a certain number (0, 1, or 2) to each Greenwich day, by judging the relative degree of disturbance of the magnetogram (resp., quiet, moderately disturbed, or disturbed). The planetary or international magnetic character figure C i was defined as the mean of the C figures supplied by all the cooperating observatories.

  2. 2.

    A sfe, or magnetic crochet is the sudden perturbation in geomagnetic elements that follows the eruption of a solar flare. sfe events occur when a solar flare points towards the Earth; they are confined mostly to the sunlit hemisphere and are associated with currents that flow primarily in the ionosphere. They are due to the extra ionization produced by X ray and EUV flare radiation. For more details, the reader is referred to, e.g., Curto et al. (1994a, b) and references therein. sfe events are usually noticed on magnetograms at low and mid-latitude stations as an increase in the intensity of the S R (see Section 8.2.2). Lists of sfe events are compiled by the Service of Rapid Variations on the basis of reports made by observatories from morphological inspection of their magnetograms.

  3. 3.

    In the GSM frame, the x-axis is represented by the Earth-Sun line, directed positive towards the Sun. The y-axis is defined as the cross product of the GSM x-axis and the magnetic dipole axis, directed positive towards dusk. The z-axis is defined as the cross product of the x- and y-axes. The magnetic dipole axis lies within the xz plane.

  4. 4.

    The S R corresponds to the curve observed during an individual magnetic quiet day; the S q variation is deduced from S R curves by averaging them over a given time interval, during which it thus represents the most likely S R variation.

  5. 5.

    The Cowling conductivity is then a combination of the Hall and Pedersen conductivities which arise in magnetized collisional plasma, such as the ionosphere.

  6. 6.

    The PCN indices were recalculated once the software bug was corrected. The index is available in both 1 min and 15 min resolution from 1975 until the present, from:

    http://web.dmi.dk/projects/wdcc1/pcn/pcn.html

  7. 7.

    The PCS index is available (for registered users) in 15 min resolution from 1978 to Oct. 1992, and in 1 min resolution from Nov. 1992 until the present, from:

    http://www.aari.nw.ru/clgmi/geophys/pc_req.asp

  8. 8.

    The full citation is deliberate here so the reader is aware that the papers are by the same authors.

  9. 9.

    Bz is the IMF North-South component, V sw is the solar wind velocity.

  10. 10.

    Reference AE values are available on-line at http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ and at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  11. 11.

    Bz is the IMF North-South component, Vsw is the solar wind velocity.

  12. 12.

    http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ae_realtime

  13. 13.

    The morphological rules are also published in Menvielle et al. (1995)

  14. 14.

    Centred dipole coordinates are obtained by approximating the main field of the Earth by a centred dipole (that is, the degree one terms of a spherical analysis of this field); corrected geomagnetic coordinates differ from the former by taking higher-order spherical harmonic terms of the main field into account.

  15. 15.

    For the sake of coherency with the Bartels’ definition, one takes L9 = 500 nT at 50° of corrected geomagnetic latitude.

  16. 16.

    Niemegk is a typical subauroral station

  17. 17.

    K p and ap: http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/pb2/pb23/Niemegk/en/index.html am, an, as, aa, and aλ: http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  18. 18.

    Reference Kp and ap values are available on-line at http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/pb2/pb23/Niemegk/en/index.html and at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr/

  19. 19.

    Reference am, an, and as values are available on-line at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  20. 20.

    The conversion tables are based on the Niemegk scale: “each class is divided into ten equal parts, the tenth subclass being on either side of each limit between subsequent classes. (…) Special treatment is applied for Kj = 0.0 to 1.5: both classes K = 0 and 1 are considered as a single class, which is divided in 15 equal parts.” (Mayaud, 1980, p. 56).

  21. 21.

    Reference aλ values are available on-line at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  22. 22.

    See note 1.

  23. 23.

    Reference aa values are available on-line at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  24. 24.

    see Section 8.2.

  25. 25.

    The GSM coordinates are deduced from the GSEQ ones by a simple rotation around their common x axis, which points from Earth to the Sun.

  26. 26.

    Reference Dst values are available on-line at http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ and at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  27. 27.

    Reference SYM and ASY values are available on-line at http://swdcwww.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/

  28. 28.

    Reference lists of sscs are available on-line at http://www.obsebre.es and at http://isgi.latmos.ipsl.fr

  29. 29.

    Geomagnetic pulsations are quasi-periodic variations of the Earth’s magnetic field which are classified by their structure and frequency

  30. 30.

    http://s-cubed.info

  31. 31.

    Digital data of the ULF index are available from:

    http://ftp://space.augsburg.edu/MACCS//ULF_Index/

Abbreviations

Bx:

IMF component along x axis, directed positive towards the Sun

By:

IMF component along the y axis, directed positive towards dusk

Bz:

IMF component along the z axis, directed positive towards north

CME:

Coronal Mass Ejection

D:

Declination: angle between the local magnetic field and the geographic north; D is positive when the geomagnetic north is east of geographic north.

DP-1:

Disturbance Polar of type 1 current

DP-2:

Disturbance Polar of type 2 current

GIC:

Ground Induced Currents

GMLAT:

Geomagnetic Latitude

GSEQ:

Geocentric Solar Equatorial coordinate system (x axis is from Earth to Sun, y axis is parallel to solar equatorial plane, z axis is positive northward)

GSM:

Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric coordinate system (x axis is from Earth to Sun; z axis is northward in a plane containing the x axis and the geomagnetic dipole axis)

H:

geomagnetic field horizontal component along the local geomagnetic north direction, directed positive northward

IGY:

International Geophysical Year (July 1, 1957—Dec. 31, 1958)

IMF:

Interplanetary Magnetic Field

Intermagnet:

International Real-time Magnetic Observatory Network

LT:

Local Time

MLT:

Magnetic Local Time

RE :

Earth radius

rms:

root mean square

sfe:

solar flare effect

Sq:

Solar quiet variation

SR :

Solar Regular variation

ssc:

storm sudden commencement

ULF:

Ultra Low Frequency

UT:

Universal Time

X:

geomagnetic field horizontal component along the geographic north direction, directed positive northward

Y:

geomagnetic field horizontal component along the geographic east direction, directed positive eastward

Z:

geomagnetic field vertical component, directed positive downward

Institutions :

 

AARI:

Artic and Antarctic Research Institute, St Petersburg, Russia

DMI:

Danish Meteorological Institute, Kopenhagen, Denmark

GFZ:

GeoForschung Zentrum, Potsdam, Germany

IAGA:

International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy

IATME:

International Association of Terrestrial Magnetism and Electricity

ISGI:

International Service of Geomagnetic Indices

IUGG:

International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy

LATMOS:

Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, Guyancourt, France

WDC-Kyoto:

World Data Center for Geomagnetism, Kyoto, Japan

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank A.W.P. Thomson for his constructive review that helped us to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LATMOS-IPSL (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales), Université Versailles St-Quentin, CNRS/INSU, Univ. Paris Sud, Boîte 102, 4 place Jussieu, 75252, Paris Cedex 05, France

    Michel Menvielle

  2. World Data Center for Geomagnetism, Kyoto, Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Oiwake-cho, Kitashirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Toshihiko Iyemori & Masahito Nosé

  3. LPC2E (Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de, l’Environnement et de l’Espace), CNRS et Université d’Orléans, 45071, Orléans cedex 2, France

    Aurélie Marchaudon

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  1. Michel Menvielle
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  2. Toshihiko Iyemori
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  3. Aurélie Marchaudon
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  4. Masahito Nosé
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Correspondence to Michel Menvielle .

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  1. , Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris G, Université Paris Diderot, rue Thomas Mann 5, Paris, 75205, France

    M. Mandea

  2. Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, 14473, Germany

    Monika Korte

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Menvielle, M., Iyemori, T., Marchaudon, A., Nosé, M. (2011). Geomagnetic Indices. In: Mandea, M., Korte, M. (eds) Geomagnetic Observations and Models. IAGA Special Sopron Book Series, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9858-0_8

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