scholarly journals Imprint of magnetic flux expulsion at the core–mantle boundary on geomagnetic field intensity variations

2020 ◽  
Vol 221 (3) ◽  
pp. 1984-2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Troyano ◽  
A Fournier ◽  
Y Gallet ◽  
C C Finlay

SUMMARY During the last decade, rapid or extreme geomagnetic field intensity variations associated with rates greater than the maximum currently observed have been inferred from archeomagnetic data in the Near-East and in Western Europe. The most extreme events, termed geomagnetic spikes, are defined as intensity peaks occurring over a short time (a few decades), and are characterized by high variation rates, up to several μT yr–1. Magnetic flux expulsion from the Earth’s outer core has been suggested as one possible explanation for these peaks but has not yet been examined in detail. In this study, we develop a 2-D kinematic model for magnetic flux expulsion whose key control parameter is the magnetic Reynolds number Rm, the ratio of magnetic diffusion time to advection time. This model enables the tracking of magnetic field lines which are distorted and folded by a fixed flow pattern. Two processes govern the magnetic evolution of the system. The first is the expulsion of magnetic flux from closed streamlines, whereby flux gradually concentrates near the boundaries of the domain, which leads to an increase of the magnetic energy of the system. If the upper boundary separates the conducting fluid from an insulating medium, a second process then takes place, that of diffusion through this interface, which we can quantify by monitoring the evolution of the vertical component of magnetic induction along this boundary. It is the conjunction of these two processes that defines our model of magnetic flux expulsion through the core–mantle boundary. We analyse several configurations with varying flow patterns and magnetic boundary conditions. We first focus on flux expulsion from a single eddy. Since this specific configuration has been widely studied, we use it to benchmark our implementation against analytic solutions and previously published numerical results. We next turn our attention to a configuration which involves two counter-rotating eddies producing an upwelling at the centre of the domain, and comprises an upper boundary with an insulating medium. We find that the characteristic rise time and maximum instantaneous variation rate of the vertical component of the magnetic field that escapes the domain scale like $\sim R_m^{0.15}$ and $\sim R_m^{0.45}$, respectively. Extrapolation of these scaling laws to the Earth’s régime is compared with various purported archeointensity highs reported in the Near-East and in Western Europe. According to our numerical experiments magnetic flux expulsion is unlikely to produce geomagnetic spikes, while intensity peaks of longer duration (one century and more) and smaller variation rates appear to be compatible with this process.

2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A191 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Benko ◽  
S. J. González Manrique ◽  
H. Balthasar ◽  
P. Gömöry ◽  
C. Kuckein ◽  
...  

Context. It has been empirically determined that the umbra-penumbra boundaries of stable sunspots are characterized by a constant value of the vertical magnetic field. Aims. We analyzed the evolution of the photospheric magnetic field properties of a decaying sunspot belonging to NOAA 11277 between August 28–September 3, 2011. The observations were acquired with the spectropolarimeter on-board of the Hinode satellite. We aim to prove the validity of the constant vertical magnetic-field boundary between the umbra and penumbra in decaying sunspots. Methods. A spectral-line inversion technique was used to infer the magnetic field vector from the full-Stokes profiles. In total, eight maps were inverted and the variation of the magnetic properties in time were quantified using linear or quadratic fits. Results. We find a linear decay of the umbral vertical magnetic field, magnetic flux, and area. The penumbra showed a linear increase of the vertical magnetic field and a sharp decay of the magnetic flux. In addition, the penumbral area quadratically decayed. The vertical component of the magnetic field is weaker on the umbra-penumbra boundary of the studied decaying sunspot compared to stable sunspots. Its value seem to be steadily decreasing during the decay phase. Moreover, at any time of the sunspot decay shown, the inner penumbra boundary does not match with a constant value of the vertical magnetic field, contrary to what is seen in stable sunspots. Conclusions. During the decaying phase of the studied sunspot, the umbra does not have a sufficiently strong vertical component of the magnetic field and is thus unstable and prone to be disintegrated by convection or magnetic diffusion. No constant value of the vertical magnetic field is found for the inner penumbral boundary.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 20170752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan F. Putman ◽  
Michelle M. Scanlan ◽  
Amanda M. Pollock ◽  
Joseph P. O'Neil ◽  
Ryan B. Couture ◽  
...  

Organisms use a variety of environmental cues to orient their movements in three-dimensional space. Here, we show that the upward movement of young Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) emerging from gravel nests is influenced by the geomagnetic field. Fish in the ambient geomagnetic field travelled farther upwards through substrate than did fish tested in a field with the vertical component inverted. This suggests that the magnetic field is one of several factors that influences emergence from the gravel, possibly by serving as an orientation cue that helps fish determine which way is up. Moreover, our work indicates that the Oncorhynchus species are sensitive to the magnetic field throughout their life cycles, and that it guides their movements across a range of spatial scales and habitats.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrique G. Cordaro ◽  
Patricio Venegas-Aravena ◽  
David Laroze

Abstract. It has been possible to detect variations in the vertical component of the geomagnetic field (Bz) through its first and second derivate in a range of frequencies (microHz); these seem to be roughly related with some major seismic subduction events. We studied the period 2010–2015, analysing the daily values of magnetic records over periods close to the last three significant events that occurred through the Chilean margin, i. e., along a boundary between convergent plates that is characterized by the occurrence of seismic events of magnitude greater than Mw8. These are the events of Iquique 2014, Illapel 2015 and Maule 2010, all at different latitudes, on different dates and characterized by different types of margin (erosive or accretionary). Certain similarities were found in the associated magnetic field variations: 1) Variation in the radial or z component of the geomagnetic field and its first and second temporal derivative, modelled as a small jump, and small oscillations in the second derivative, generating a frequency band between 1c / 48.9 hours and 1c / 79.13 Hrs. 2) A variable time lapse of between 30 and 120 days; and 3) The seismic event. Furthermore, when analysing spectrograms for the second temporal derivate of the radial component, different behaviour is found related to its spectral density. This takes the form of an increase in ultra-low frequencies (0.01–0.4 mHz) between the start of the magnetic jump and the seismic event. These frequencies are lower than those found during the last years by research groups that related magnetic field and earthquakes, furthermore the concept of time lapse close to 30 days is in agreement with those research groups. The previous analyses may not be so robust, this is why additionally a new method is used with stations closer to the events and time periods of two years. We analysed the daily cumulative number of anomalous behaviour in z component of magnetic field on ground based magnetometers. The results show an increase in the number of magnetic anomalies prior to the occurrence of the three earthquakes. The behavior of the anomalies is similar to those presented by other authors for other earthquakes with similar methods in ionosphere. All this magnetic features might recover seismic information of the events and could be related with Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Владимир Мишин ◽  
Vladimir Mishin ◽  
Юрий Караваев ◽  
Yuriy Karavaev

Using data on three superstorms, we study new features of the saturation of the polar cap area when the solar wind (SW) increases. The polar cap saturation is shown to occur when the SW dynamic pressure and southward vertical (IMF) component rise. The saturation is realized not only during the passage of interplanetary magnetic clouds, but also at significant enhancement of SW density when the SW thermal pressure is comparable with the pressure of the interplanetary magnetic field. We assume that under such conditions the saturation is caused not only by a decrease in the efficiency of reconnection at the dayside magnetopause, but mainly by finite magnetosphere compressibility — stopping the magnetopause compression due to a rapid earthward growth of the geomagnetic field, i.e. the inner magnetospheric structure of the geomagnetic field. We have found signs of saturation depending on the northward IMF component. We assume that the IMF-dependent saturation exists for both signs of its vertical component due to an increase in the total pressure in the magnetosheath. Moreover, when penetrating into the magnetosphere, the southward IMF component reduces the geomagnetic field and thereby causes additional compression of the magnetopause and, accordingly, an increase in the saturation level of the polar cap area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. A28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Jurčák ◽  
Markus Schmassmann ◽  
Matthias Rempel ◽  
Nazaret Bello González ◽  
Rolf Schlichenmaier

Context. Analyses of sunspot observations revealed a fundamental magnetic property of the umbral boundary: the invariance of the vertical component of the magnetic field. Aims. We analyse the magnetic properties of the umbra-penumbra boundary in simulated sunspots and thus assess their similarity to observed sunspots. We also aim to investigate the role of the plasma β and the ratio of kinetic to magnetic energy in simulated sunspots in the convective motions because these quantities cannot be reliably determined from observations. Methods. We used a set of non-gray simulation runs of sunspots with the MURaM code. The setups differed in terms of subsurface magnetic field structure and magnetic field boundary imposed at the top of the simulation domain. These data were used to synthesize the Stokes profiles, which were then degraded to the Hinode spectropolarimeter-like observations. Then, the data were treated like real Hinode observations of a sunspot, and magnetic properties at the umbral boundaries were determined. Results. Simulations with potential field extrapolation produce a realistic magnetic field configuration on the umbral boundaries of the sunspots. Two simulations with a potential field upper boundary, but different subsurface magnetic field structures, differ significantly in the extent of their penumbrae. Increasing the penumbra width by forcing more horizontal magnetic fields at the upper boundary results in magnetic properties that are not consistent with observations. This implies that the size of the penumbra is given by the subsurface structure of the magnetic field, that is, by the depth and inclination of the magnetopause, which is shaped by the expansion of the sunspot flux rope with height. None of the sunspot simulations is consistent with the observed properties of the magnetic field and the direction of the Evershed flow at the same time. Strong outward-directed Evershed flows are only found in setups with an artificially enhanced horizontal component of the magnetic field at the top boundary that are not consistent with the observed magnetic field properties at the umbra-penumbra boundary. We stress that the photospheric boundary of simulated sunspots is defined by a magnetic field strength of equipartition field value.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document