Nighttime magnetic perturbation events observed in Arctic Canada: 3.
Occurrence and amplitude as functions of magnetic latitude, local time,
and magnetic disturbances
Abstract
Rapid changes of magnetic fields associated with nighttime magnetic
perturbation events (MPEs) with amplitudes |ΔB| of
hundreds of nT and 5-10 min periods can induce geomagnetically-induced
currents (GICs) that can harm technological systems. In this study we
compare the occurrence and amplitude of nighttime MPEs with
|dB/dt| ≥ 6 nT/s observed during 2015 and 2017 at five
stations in Arctic Canada ranging from 75.2° to 64.7° in corrected
geomagnetic latitude (MLAT) as functions of magnetic local time (MLT),
the SME and SYM/H magnetic indices, and time delay after substorm
onsets. Although most MPEs occurred within 30 minutes after a substorm
onset, ~10% of those observed at the four lower
latitude stations occurred over two hours after the most recent onset. A
broad distribution in local time appeared at all 5 stations between 1700
and 0100 MLT, and a narrower distribution appeared at the lower latitude
stations between 0200 and 0700 MLT. There was little or no correlation
between MPE amplitude and the SYM/H index; most MPEs at all stations
occurred for SYM/H values between -40 and 0 nT. SME index values for
MPEs observed more than 1 hour after the most recent substorm onset fell
in the lower half of the range of SME values for events during
substorms, and dipolarizations in synchronous orbit at GOES 13 during
these events were weaker or more often nonexistent. These observations
suggest that substorms are neither necessary nor sufficient to cause
MPEs, and hence predictions of GICs cannot focus solely on substorms.