DIURNAL AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF THE Sq FOCI LATITUDES ALONG AFRICAN MERIDIAN
DIURNAL AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS OF THE Sq FOCI LATITUDES ALONG AFRICAN MERIDIAN
Previously Published Material: These findings were reported at African Geophysical Society conference held in Abuja, Nigeria on the 7th of June 2014 and are under review by a scientific Journal-Advances in Space Physics Research-ELSEVIER
Abstract ID#: 33187
English Abstract:
The hourly data of the horizontal component (H) of the geomagnetic field monitored simultaneously at three stations of International Real-time Magnetic Network (INTERMAGNET) and twelve stations of Magnetic Data Acquisition System (MAGDAS) along African Meridian have been used to analyse the latitudinal variation of Sq current foci under the quiet condition in the year 2009 when the solar activity was extremely low (average sunspot number RZ=3.1). Our results showed that the Sq current foci at both hemispheres exhibit a rise mostly during pre-noon hours and a decline during post-noon hours. The seasonal variation of latitudes of the Sq foci presented intermittent poleward and equatorward shift in both hemispheres. The Sq foci exhibited variability and maximised at local noon of the observatory stations’ locality. The Sq foci latitudes on either side are mostly poleward in March equinox. Our correlation analysis results between the foci latitudes show high negative correlation in March and September equinoxes and negatively weak correlation in June solstice. The correlation in December solstice has been found to be positively weak.
Keywords: Solar Quiet Variation Foci, Geomagnetic Field, Ionospheric Current System.