Solar flare effects and storm sudden commencement even in Geomagnetic H, Y and Z fields at Euro-African observatories

Abstract

Variations in the three components of geomagnetic field were observed at the twenty-two geomagnetic Euro-African Observatories during the solar flare that occurred on the 6 May, 1998 at 0080UT and storm sudden commencement that took place on May 8, 1998 at 15.00 UT. The geomagnetic field on 6 May, 1998 was quiet. Strong correlation exists between the solar flare amplitude of the Z component (dZsfe) and the monthly mean of the Sq variation. Strong responses of Z and Y fields to solar activity were noted. From the estimation of the contributions of D and E-layers to the geomagnetic SFE, it was inferred that both of these layers contribute to geomagnetic SFE almost equally with ratio of D-layer current to E-layer current being approximately 1.21.

Keywords: Solar flare, Storm sudden commencement, Variation, Sq current, correlation.

Nigerian Journal of Physics Vol. 18 (1) 2006: pp. 59-66