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Great magnetic stormsThe five largest magnetic storms that occurred between 1971 to 1986 are studied to determine their solar and interplanetary causes. All of the events are found to be associated with high speed solar wind streams led by collisionless shocks. The high speed streams are clearly related to identifiable solar flares. It is found that: (1) it is the extreme values of the southward interplanetary magnetic fields rather than solar wind speeds that are the primary causes of great magnetic storms, (2) shocked and draped sheath fields preceding the driver gas (magnetic cloud) are at least as effective in causing the onset of great magnetic storms (3 of 5 events) as the strong fields within the driver gas itself, and (3) precursor southward fields ahead of the high speed streams allow the shock compression mechanism (item 2) to be particularly geoeffective.
Document ID
19920038418
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Tsurutani, Bruce T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Lee, Yen T.
(JPL Pasadena, CA, United States)
Gonzalez, Walter D.
(Instituto de Pesquisas Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil)
Tang, Frances
(California Institute of Technology Pasadena, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 3, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 19
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
92A21042
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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