INTER-PLANETARY ENERGY FLUX ASSOCIATED WITH MAGNETOSPHERIC SUBSTORMS

It is shown that the interplanetary quantity ε(t), obtained by Perreault and Akasofu (1978), for intense geomagnetic storms, also correlates well with individual magnetospheric substonns. This quantity is given by ε(t) = VB2sin4 ( θ 2)lo2, where V and B denote the solar wind speed and the magnitude of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), respectively, and θ denotes the polar angle of the IMF; lo is a constant ≊ 7 Earth radii. The AE index is used in this correlation study. The correlation is good enough to predict both the occurrence and intensity of magnetospheric substonns observed in the auroral zone, by monitoring the quantity ε(t) upstream of the solar wind. © 1979.