The magnetic tides of Honolulu
We review the phenomenon of time-stationary, periodic quiet-time geomagnetic tides. These are generated by the ionospheric and oceanic dynamos, and, to a lesser-extent, by the quiet-time magnetosphere, and they are affected by currents induced in the Earth's electrically conducting interior. We examine historical time series of hourly magnetic-vector measurements made at the Honolulu observatory. We construct high-resolution, frequency-domain Lomb-periodogram and maximum-entropy power spectra that reveal a panorama of stationary harmonics across periods from 0.1 to 10000.0-d, including harmonics that result from amplitude and phase modulation. We identify solar-diurnal tides and their annual and solar-cycle sideband modulations, lunar semi-diurnal tides and their solar-diurnal sidebands, and tides due to precession of lunar eccentricity and nodes. We provide evidence that a method intended for separating the ionospheric and oceanic dynamo signals by midnight subsampling of observatory data time series is prone to frequency-domain aliasing. The tidal signals we summarize in this review can be used to test our fundamental understanding of the dynamics of the quiet-time ionosphere and magnetosphere, induction in the ocean and in the electrically conducting interior of the Earth, and they are useful for defining a quiet-time baseline against which magnetospheric-storm intensity is measured.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2013 |
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Title | The magnetic tides of Honolulu |
Authors | Jeffrey J. Love, Erin Joshua Rigler |
Publication Type | Conference Paper |
Publication Subtype | Abstract or summary |
Index ID | 70095678 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Geologic Hazards Science Center |