Programme by Session

Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) are driven by variations in the ionospheric electric currents, which in turn are enhanced by space weather activity. These currents are a convolution of the structure of the electric field and Pedersen and Hall conductivities in the ionosphere and there is evidence that the meso-scale structure of the currents is important in terms of the rate of change of the surface horizontal magnetic field (dH/dt), relevant to hazardous GIC.

We use data from the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar in northern Norway to derive estimates of the local electric field and conductance and consider how they vary in relation to each other and how that variability influences dH/dt, as measured by local magnetometers. Understanding how these parameters influence GIC will provide information on the meso and small spatial scale response to space weather events.