Simultaneous ground-based observations of electric and magnetic field variations near the magnetic equator for space weather study
Abstract
It is well known that daytime DP 2 magnetic variations observed on the ground are well correlated with changes of the solar wind Bz component (Nishida 1968a & b). Electric fields caused by the solar wind interaction with the Earth's magnetic field are believed to be imposed on the polar ionosphere and penetrate into the equatorial ionosphere (Nishida 1968b; Kikuchi, et al. 1996). DP 2 magnetic variations in the daytime are clearly seen on the ground in the equatorial region where the ionospheric Cowling conductivity is zonally enhanced, while those in the nighttime are difficult to be observed because ofthe lower ionospheric conductivity. The dip equator is a peculiar region where the ionospheric conductivity is much larger than those at low latitudes, and therefore DP 2 phenomena observed near the dayside dip equator can be a useful tool for monitoring the change of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the solar wind.
In order to clarify the global nature of penetration mechanism of DP 2 electric fields from the polar to the equatorial ionosphere, and to understand the solar wind-Earth's magnetosphere coupling as a space weather study, we have carried out simultaneous magnetic and electric field observations using the Circum-pan Pacific Magnetometer Network (CPMN; Yumoto, et al. 1996; Tachihara, et al. 1996; see the website of http://denjil02.geo.kyushu-u.ac.jp/denji/obs/obs_e.html) and the Frequency Modulated-Continuous Wave (FM-CW) HF radar (Nozaki, et al. 1999).