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Geomagnetically-induced effects related to disturbed geomagnetic field variations at low latitude

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  • Similar fluctuations in the time derivatives \(dH/dt\) and \(dD/dt\) of the geomagnetic field components were observed in the horizontal components \(Ey\) and \(Ex\) of the geoelectric field and the GIC variations.

  • The disturbance fluctuations in the geoelectric field components and the GIC exhibit higher amplitudes during the daytime, especially between about 8:00 and 16:00 LT.

  • The impulses in the geoelectric field components and the estimated GIC during this daytime are stronger in the southern stations than in the northern stations.

  • On the average, the impulses in geoelectric field components and the estimated GIC exhibit a slight enhancement near the magnetic equator.

Abstract

In this paper, we analyzed low latitude geoelectric field variations and Geomagnetically Induced Current (\(GIC\)), associated with disturbed geomagnetic field variations in West Africa. For this purpose, variations of geomagnetic field components \(H\), \(D\) and \(Z\), and geoelectric field horizontal components \(Ey\) and \(Ex\) were examined during geomagnetically disturbed periods, with the daily means of the Ap index higher than 20 nT. Variations of geoelectric field components \(Ey\) and \(Ex\) were identified as associated with disturbed variations of the geomagnetic field. The \(GIC\) was estimated from the observed \(Ey\) and \(Ex\) based on system parameters configuration with \(a = b = 50~\,{\text{A}}\,{\text{km/V}}\). The disturbance fluctuations in the geoelectric field components and the estimated GIC exhibit a diurnal trend, with higher amplitudes during the daytime. The impulses in the geoelectric field components and the estimated \(GIC\) are stronger in the southern stations than in the northern stations. On the average, these impulses decrease from LAM to TOM, with a slight enhancement near the magnetic equator.

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Acknowledgements

The records of geomagnetic field and the geoelectric field variations were operated by the French research institutions IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris), in collaboration with Université de Cocody (Cote d’Ivoire) during the International Equatorial Electrojet Year (IEEY). These data can be accessed on http://users.ictp.it/~yenca/IEEY_data/. The geomagnetic activity index ap was downloaded from the website of the World Data Center for Geomagnetism http://wdc.kugi.kyoto-u.ac.jp/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Physique de l’Atmosphère, UFR-SSMT, Université Félix Houphouët Boigny, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

    N Kouassi, V Doumbia, K Boka, Z Tuo, O D F Grodji, A A Kassamba & A F Zillé

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  1. N Kouassi
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  2. V Doumbia
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Contributions

The present work was performed in the framework of the PhD thesis of Nguessan Kouassi under the supervision of Prof Vafi Doumbia. Nguessan Kouassi and Vafi Doumbia contributed to the data processing and analysis. Vafi Doumbia verified the analytical methods and the findings of the manuscript and contributed to the discussions of the results. All the authors contributed, read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to N Kouassi.

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Communicated by T Narayana Rao

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Kouassi, N., Doumbia, V., Boka, K. et al. Geomagnetically-induced effects related to disturbed geomagnetic field variations at low latitude. J Earth Syst Sci 130, 180 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01670-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01670-7

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