Relating 27-Day Averages of Solar, Interplanetary MediumParameters, and
Geomagnetic Activity Proxies in SolarCycle 24
Abstract
We analyzed correlations between solar, interplanetary-medium
parameters, and geomagnetic-activity proxies in 27-day averages (a
Bartels rotation) for the 2009 – 2016 time interval. We considered two
new proxies: I) Bzs GSM (Geocentric Solar Magnetic), calculated as the
daily percentage of the IMF southward component along the GSM z-axis and
then averaged every 27 days; ii) four magnetospheric indices
(T-indices), calculated from the local north-south (X) contributions of
the magnetosphere’s cross-tail (TAIL), the symmetric ring current (SRC),
the partial ring current (PRC), and the Birkeland current (FAC), derived
from the Tsyganenko and Sitnov (J. Geophys. Res. 110, A03208, 2005:
TS05) semi-empirical magnetospheric model. Our results suggest, among
the parameters tested here, solar facular areas, interplanetary-magnetic
field intensity and new proxies derived here could be taken into account
in an empirical model, with a 27-day resolution, to explain geomagnetic
activity felt on the Earth’s surface in terms of solar surface features
and the IMF condition. We further retrieve a clear annual oscillation in
series of 27-day-mean values of toward/away asymmetries of
geomagnetic-activity indices, which can be interpreted in the light of
the Russell–McPherron hypothesis for the semiannual variation of
geomagnetic activity (Russell, C.T., and R. L. McPherron (1973), J.
Geophys. Res., 78, 92 – 108).