edu.ucar.opensky::articles:13065 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T03:52:16.856805 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7mp545d The effects of seasonal and diurnal variations in the Earth's magnetic dipole orientation on solar wind–magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling 2012-11-16T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7mp545d https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JA017825 Cnossen, Ingrid author Wiltberger, Michael author Ouellette, J. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher The angle μ between the geomagnetic dipole axis and the geocentric solar magnetospheric (GSM) zaxis, sometimes called the "dipole tilt," varies as a function of UT and season. Observations have shown that the cross-polar cap potential tends to maximize near the equinoxes, when on averageμ= 0, with smaller values observed near the solstices. This is similar to the well-known semiannual variation in geomagnetic activity. We use numerical model simulations to investigate the role of two possible mechanisms that may be responsible for the influence ofμon the magnetosphere-ionosphere system: variations in the coupling efficiency between the solar wind and the magnetosphere and variations in the ionospheric conductance over the polar caps. Under southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions, variations in ionospheric conductance at high magnetic latitudes are responsible for 10–30% of the variations in the cross-polar cap potential associated withμ, but variations in solar wind–magnetosphere coupling are more important and responsible for 70–90%. Variations in viscous processes contribute slightly to this, but variations in the reconnection rate with μare the dominant cause. The variation in the reconnection rate is primarily the result of a variation in the length of the section of the separator line along which relatively strong reconnection occurs. Changes in solar wind–magnetosphere coupling also affect the field-aligned currents, but these are influenced as well by variations in the conductance associated with variations inμ, more so than the cross-polar cap potential. This may be the case for geomagnetic activity too. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2012 American Geophysical Union. None eng geoscientificInformation