Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Gonzalez, W. D..
This paper attempts to summarize the current understanding of the storm/substorm relationship by clearing up a considerabel amount of controversy and addressing the question of how solar wind energy is deposited into the constituent elements that are critical to magnetospheric and ionospheric processes.
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This talk provides a brief summary of the first conference devoted entirely to magnetic storms. Topics cover the relevant phenomena at the Sun/corona, propogation of these structures through interplanetary space, the response of the magnetosphere to interaction with these interplanetary structures, the formation of the storm time ring current (in particular the oxygen content of the ring-current), and storm ionospheric effects and ground based effects.
Geomagnetic storms are related to the ring current intensification, which is driven by energy injection primarily during energetic solar wind-magnetosphere coupling due to reconnection at the magnetopause. This work identified the interplanetary origins of moderate geomagnetic storms (-100nT is less or equal to Dst(sub peak) is less than or equal to -50 nT) and analyzed the coupling processes during the storm main phase at solar maximum (1978-1979).
Intense geomagnetic storms (Dst<or equal to -100nT) have been associated with interplanetary structures involving large-intensity (B(sub 3)<or equal to 10nT) and long-duration (T< or equal to 3 hours) values of the southward component of the IMF. We show that near solar maximum, the solar origin of such structures seems to be associated with active regions(flares and/or filament eruptions) ocurring close to the streamer belt and to growing low altitude coronal holes. It is also shown that such type of coronal holes had a dual-peak solar cycle distribution during solar cycle 21, similar to that previously reported for the above mentioned interplanetary and geomagnetic phenomena.
The physical mechanism for energy transfer from the solar wind to the magnetosphere is magnetic reconnection between the interplanetary field and the Earth's field. From Intro: It is the purpose of this paper to review the sources of such interplanetary magnetic fields distinguishing between the solar maximum and the declining phases of the solar cycle.
This presentation will show that the three distinct phases of magnetic storms (initial, main, recovery) can each have considerably different characteristics during solar minimum and solar maximum. Illustrated will be the interplanetary causes of these differences; and, that a year during the descending phase of the solar cycle had significantly greater auroral activity than a year of solar maximum.
We examined 11 cases when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was intensely northward (greater than 10 nT) for long durations of time (greater than 3 hours), to quantitatively determine an uppler limit on the efficiency of solar wind energy injection into the magnetosphere. We have specifically selected these large B(sub N) events to minimize the effects of magnetic reconnection. Many of these cases occurred during intervals of high-speed streams associated with coronal mass ejections when viscous interaction effects might be at a maximum. It is found that the typical efficiency of solar wind energy injection into the magnetosphere is 1.0 x 10(exp -3) to 4.0 x 10(exp -3), 100 to 30 times less efficient than during periods of intense southward IMFs. Other energy sinks not included in these numbers are discussed. Estimates of their magnitudes are provided.
Interplanetary magnetic field and plasma data are compared with ground-based geomagnetic Dst and AE indices to determine the causes of magnetic storms, substorms, and quiet during the descending phase of the solar cycle. The primary focus is on 1974 data characterized by the presence of two long-lasting corotating streams associated with coronal holes.
Within the last 7-8 years, there has been a substantial growth in out knowledge of the solar and interplanetary causes of geomagnetic storms at Earth. This review article will not attempt to cover all of the work done during this period. This can be found elsewhere. Our emphasis here will be on recent efforts that expose important, presently unanswered questions that must be addressed and solved before true predictability of storms can be possible. Hopefully, this article will encourage some readers to join this effort and perhaps make major contributions to the field.
A review of the geomagnetic response to large-amplitude interplanetary Alfven wave trains is presented, highlighting its dependence on solar activity level and its role in the storm/substorm relationship problem. Also discussed are some recent observations obtained by the Ulysses spacecraft at high heliospheric latitudes dealing with the origin and dynamics of these wave trains.
After a brief review of magnetospheric and interplanetary phenomena for intervals with enhanced solar wind-magnetosphere interaction, an attempt is made to define a geomagnetic storm as an interval of time when a sufficiently intense and long-lasting interplanetary convection electric field leads, through a substantial energization in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system, to an intensified ring current sufficiently strong to exceed some key threshold of the quantifying storm time Dst index. The associated storm/substorm relationship problem is also reviewed. Although the physics of this relationship does not seem to be fully understood at this time, basic and fairly well established mechanisms of this relationship are presented and discussed. Finally, toward the advancement of geomagnetic storm research, some recommendations are given concerning future improvements in monitoring existing geomagnetic indices as well as the solar wind near Earth.
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It is proposed by Crooker et al. (1992) that for a subgroup of great geomagnetic storms, for which the associated strong southward IMF (B(S)) fields reside in the postshock plasma, preceding the driver gas of coronal mass ejections, such strong B(S) fields result from a 'major increase in the Russell-McPherron polarity effect, through a systematic pattern of compression and draping' of the Archimedean field in the x-y plane. The critics test the scenario proposed by Crooker et al., namely, that the Russell-McPherron polarity effect is a major contribution to the semiannual variable of intense geomagnetic storms. It is found by the critics that in the cases studied there is little difference between the B(S) values as measured in geocentric solar ecliptic and geocentric solar magnetospheric coordinates, and it is concluded that the Russell-McPherron mechanism cannot explain by itself the seasonal dependence of intense storms, for which the variation is the largest. Crooker et al. present arguments to show that the combined preshock and postshock Russell-McPherron effect remains the sole cause of the semiannual variation of great storm occurrence.
The state-of-the-art in stratospheric balloon-borne vector electric field measurements, from its origins to the present is reviewed. Consideration is given to the Extended Life Balloon-Borne Observatories program that utilizes an extensively modified payload and dual telemetry systems to improve the measurements and increase the data rates.
The initial description of magnetic clouds by Klein and Burlaga (1982) and the models that have been developed for their representation (e.g., by Goldstein, 1983) are examined. The results show that a definition of the cloud's polarity only in terms of the Bz component of the IMF is not always correct. It is suggested that, for the description polarities of quasi-transverse and quasi-parallel clouds, a combination of directions in the Bz and By components of the IMF should be used.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.