Magnetic field fluctuation features at Swarm's altitude: A fractal approach

Paola De Michelis, Giuseppe Consolini, Roberta Tozzi
2015 Geophysical Research Letters  
The ESA Swarm mission provides a qualitatively new level of observational 3 geomagnetic data, which allows us to study the spatial features of magnetic 4 field fluctuations, capturing their essential characteristics and at the same 5 time establishing a correlation with the dynamics of the systems responsi-6 ble for the fluctuations. Our study aims to characterize changes in the scal-7 ing properties of the geomagnetic field's spatial fluctuations by evaluating 8 the local Hurst exponent, and
more » ... construct maps of this index at the Swarm's 9 altitude (∼ 460 km). Since a signal with a larger Hurst exponent is more 10 regular and less erratic than a signal with a smaller one, the maps permit 11 us to localize spatial structures characterized by different scaling properties. 12 This study is an example of the potential of Swarm data to give new insights 13 into ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling; at the same time, it develops new 14 applications where changes in statistical parameters can be used as a local 15 indicator of overall magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling conditions.
doi:10.1002/2015gl063603 fatcat:oeo3vvcounga7fxuwraw36eafi