Abstract
The equivalent source method of Spherical Elementary Current Systems
(SECS) has contributed valuable results for spatial magnetic
interpolation purposes where no observations are available, as well as
for modeling equivalent currents both in the ionosphere and in the
subsurface, thus providing a separation between external and internal
sources. It has been successfully applied to numerous Space Weather (SW)
events, whereas some advantages have been reported over other techniques
such as Fourier or Spherical (Cap) Harmonic Analysis. Although different
modalities of SECS exist (either 1-D, 2-D or 3-D) depending on the
number of space dimensions involved, the method provides a sequence of
instantaneous pictures of the source current. We present an extension of
SECS consisting in the introduction of a temporal dependence in the
formulation based on a cubic B-splines expansion. The technique thus
adds one dimension, becoming 4-D in general (e.g., 3D + t), and its
application is envisaged for, though not restricted to, the analysis of
past events including heterogeneous geomagnetic datasets, such as those
containing gaps, different sampling rates or diverse data sources. A
synthetic model based on the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) is
used to show the efficacy of the extended scheme. We apply this method
to characterize the current systems of past and significant SW events
producing geomagnetically induced currents (GIC), which we exemplify
with an outstanding geomagnetic sudden commencement (SC) occurred on
March 24, 1991.