North-south asymmetry of the amplitude of high-latitude Pc 3-5 pulsations: Observations at conjugate stations

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research. A. Space Physics 2005-10, Vol.110 (A10), p.A10214.1-n/a
• Main Authors: Obana, Yuki, Yoshikawa, Akimasa, Olson, John V., Morris, Ray J., Fraser, Brian J., Yumoto, Kiyohumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; field line resonance; magnetic conjugate; magnetic pulsation; magnetosphere-ionsophere coupling; Pc 3-5 pulsations; ULF wave
• ISSN: 0148-0227; 2156-2202
• DOI: 10.1029/2003JA010242

The north‐south asymmetry of the amplitude of ULF pulsations in the Pc 3–5 band is studied using magnetic field data from the magnetically conjugate stations at L ∼ 5.4: Kotzebue (KOT) in the northern hemisphere and Macquarie Island (MCQ) in the southern hemisphere. We obtained the following results for the northward (H) component of magnetic pulsations: (1) The north to south power ratio shows a maximum in the northern winter and a minimum in the northern summer. This “seasonal variation” is stronger at higher frequencies (Pc 3 and Pc 4 frequencies). (2) The north to south power ratio for the Pc 4 and Pc 5 frequency band is basically greater than 1.0 for all seasons. This “positive offset” is stronger at lower frequencies. The “seasonal variation” implies that the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves incident from the magnetosphere are more strongly shielded when the ionospheric conductivity is higher. The “positive offset” may result from the difference of the background magnetic field intensity between KOT and MCQ.