Abstract
To understand the weaker geomagnetic activity in Solar Cycle 24, we present comparisons of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) fittings and in situ observation parameters in Solar Cycles 23 and 24. According to their in situ features, ICMEs are separated into two categories: isolated ICMEs (I-ICMEs) and multiple ICMEs (M-ICMEs). The number of I-ICMEs in Solar Cycles 23 and 24 does not show a strong difference, while the number of M-ICMEs, which have a high probability of causing intense geomagnetic storms, declines proportionally to the sunspot number in Solar Cycle 24. Despite no obvious variation in their distribution, the geoeffective ICMEs in Solar Cycle 23 have a larger average total magnetic field strength and a larger southern magnetic field than those of Solar Cycle 24. Since the average solar wind velocities of the two solar cycles differ, the geoeffective ICMEs in Solar Cycle 23 have a higher velocity and distinct speed distributions from those in Solar Cycle 24. The total magnetic flux and radius of I-ICMEs in Solar Cycle 23 are larger than those in Solar Cycle 24, while the axial magnetic field intensity is basically the same. We propose that geomagnetic activity in Solar Cycle 24 is lower than that of Solar Cycle 23, due to the smaller M-ICME number, the slower ICME speed, and absence of ICME events with significant southward magnetic field.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
The list of interplanetary coronal mass ejections in Solar Cycles 23 and 24 can be obtained from the website http://space.ustc.edu.cn/dreams/wind_icmes/index.php, interplanetary magnetic field and solar wind data are available from Wind and the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellites (https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp_public/). The sunspot number data of version 2.0 can be downloaded from World Data Center-Sunspot Index and Long-term Solar Observations (WDC-SILSO), Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels (https://wwwbis.sidc.be/silso/datafiles). The simulation of the velocity-modified cylindrically symmetric force-free flux rope model can be obtained from http://space.ustc.edu.cn/dreams/mc_fitting/.
References
Aulanier, G.: 2010, What triggers coronal mass ejections? In: 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly 38, 2. ADS.
Burlaga, L.F.: 1988, Magnetic clouds and force-free fields with constant alpha. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 7217. DOI. ADS.
Burlaga, L., Sittler, E., Mariani, F., Schwenn, R.: 1981, Magnetic loop behind an interplanetary shock: Voyager, Helios, and IMP 8 observations. J. Geophys. Res. 86, 6673. DOI. ADS.
Burlaga, L., Berdichevsky, D., Gopalswamy, N., Lepping, R., Zurbuchen, T.: 2003, Merged interaction regions at 1 AU. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 1425. DOI. ADS.
Case, A.W., Spence, H.E., Owens, M.J., Riley, P., Odstrcil, D.: 2008, Ambient solar wind’s effect on ICME transit times. Geophys. Res. Lett. 35, L15105. DOI. ADS.
Chi, Y., Shen, C., Wang, Y., Xu, M., Ye, P., Wang, S.: 2016, Statistical study of the interplanetary coronal mass ejections from 1995 to 2015. Solar Phys. 291, 2419. DOI. ADS.
Chi, Y., Zhang, J., Shen, C., Hess, P., Liu, L., Mishra, W., Wang, Y.: 2018, Observational study of an Earth-affecting problematic ICME from STEREO. Astrophys. J. 863, 108. DOI. ADS.
Chi, Y., Scott, C., Shen, C., Barnard, L., Owens, M., Xu, M., Zhang, J., Jones, S., Zhong, Z., Yu, B., Lang, M., Wang, Y., Lockwood, M.: 2021, Modeling the observed distortion of multiple (Ghost) CME fronts in STEREO heliospheric imagers. Astrophys. J. Lett. 917, L16. DOI. ADS.
Cid, C., Hidalgo, M.A., Nieves-Chinchilla, T., Sequeiros, J., Viñas, A.F.: 2002, Plasma and magnetic field inside magnetic clouds: a global study. Solar Phys. 207, 187. DOI. ADS.
Dasso, S., Mandrini, C.H., Schmieder, B., Cremades, H., Cid, C., Cerrato, Y., Saiz, E., Démoulin, P., Zhukov, A.N., Rodriguez, L., Aran, A., Menvielle, M., Poedts, S.: 2009, Linking two consecutive nonmerging magnetic clouds with their solar sources. J. Geophys. Res. 114, A02109. DOI. ADS.
Echer, E., Tsurutani, B.T., Gonzalez, W.D.: 2013, Interplanetary origins of moderate (\(-100\text{ nT} < \mathrm{Dst} \leq -50\) nT) geomagnetic storms during solar cycle 23 (1996-2008). J. Geophys. Res. 118, 385. DOI. ADS.
Echer, E., Gonzalez, W.D., Tsurutani, B.T., Gonzalez, A.L.C.: 2008, Interplanetary conditions causing intense geomagnetic storms (\(\mathrm{Dst}\leq-100\) nT) during solar cycle 23 (1996-2006). J. Geophys. Res. 113, A05221. DOI. ADS.
Fadaaq, M., Badruddin, B.: 2021, Study of transient modulation of galactic cosmic rays due to interplanetary manifestations of coronal mass ejections: 2010–2017. Astrophys. Space Sci. 366, 10. DOI. ADS.
Goldstein, H.: 1983, On the field configuration in magnetic clouds. In: NASA Conf. Pub. 228, 731. ADS.
Gonzalez, W.D., Joselyn, J.A., Kamide, Y., Kroehl, H.W., Rostoker, G., Tsurutani, B.T., Vasyliunas, V.M.: 1994, What is a geomagnetic storm? J. Geophys. Res. 99, 5771. DOI. ADS.
Gonzalez, W.D., Echer, E., Clua-Gonzalez, A.L., Tsurutani, B.T.: 2007, Interplanetary origin of intense geomagnetic storms (\(\mathrm{Dst}< -100\) nT) during solar cycle 23. Geophys. Res. Lett. 34, L06101. DOI. ADS.
Gonzalez, W.D., Echer, E., Tsurutani, B.T., Clúa de Gonzalez, A.L., Dal Lago, A.: 2011, Interplanetary origin of intense, superintense and extreme geomagnetic storms. Space Sci. Rev. 158, 69. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N.: 2008, Solar connections of geoeffective magnetic structures. J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 70, 2078. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N., Tsurutani, B., Yan, Y.: 2015, Short-term variability of the Sun-Earth system: an overview of progress made during the CAWSES-II period. Prog. Earth Planet. Sci. 2, 13. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N., Lara, A., Yashiro, S., Kaiser, M.L., Howard, R.A.: 2001, Predicting the 1-AU arrival times of coronal mass ejections. J. Geophys. Res. 106, 29207. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N., Akiyama, S., Yashiro, S., Mäkelä, P.: 2010, Coronal mass ejections from sunspot and non-sunspot regions. In: Magnetic Coupling Between the Interior and Atmosphere of the Sun, Astrophys. Space Sci. Proc. 19, 289. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N., Akiyama, S., Yashiro, S., Xie, H., Mäkelä, P., Michalek, G.: 2014, Anomalous expansion of coronal mass ejections during solar cycle 24 and its space weather implications. Geophys. Res. Lett. 41, 2673. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N., Akiyama, S., Yashiro, S., Xie, H., Makela, P., Michalek, G.: 2015b, The Mild Space Weather in Solar Cycle 24. ArXiv e-prints, arXiv. DOI. ADS.
Gopalswamy, N., Yashiro, S., Xie, H., Akiyama, S., Mäkelä, P.: 2015a, Properties and geoeffectiveness of magnetic clouds during solar cycles 23 and 24. J. Geophys. Res. 120, 9221. DOI. ADS.
Gulisano, A.M., Démoulin, P., Dasso, S., Rodriguez, L.: 2012, Expansion of magnetic clouds in the outer heliosphere. Astron. Astrophys. 543, A107. DOI. ADS.
Hajra, R., Marques de Souza Franco, A., Echer, E., José Alves Bolzan, M.: 2021, Long term variations of the geomagnetic activity: a comparison between the strong and weak solar activity cycles and implications for the space climate. J. Geophys. Res. 126, e28695. DOI. ADS.
Hidalgo, M.A., Nieves-Chinchilla, T.: 2012, A global magnetic topology model for magnetic clouds. I. Astrophys. J. 748, 109. DOI. ADS.
Hidalgo, M.A., Nieves-Chinchilla, T., Cid, C.: 2002, Elliptical cross-section model for the magnetic topology of magnetic clouds. Geophys. Res. Lett. 29, 1637. DOI. ADS.
Hidalgo, M.A., Cid, C., Vinas, A.F., Sequeiros, J.: 2002, A non-force-free approach to the topology of magnetic clouds in the solar wind. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1002. DOI. ADS.
Hu, Q., Sonnerup, B.U.Ö.: 2002, Reconstruction of magnetic clouds in the solar wind: orientations and configurations. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1142. DOI. ADS.
Janvier, M., Démoulin, P., Dasso, S.: 2013, Global axis shape of magnetic clouds deduced from the distribution of their local axis orientation. Astron. Astrophys. 556, A50. DOI. ADS.
Klein, L.W., Burlaga, L.F.: 1982, Interplanetary magnetic clouds at 1 AU. J. Geophys. Res. 87, 613. DOI. ADS.
Kumar, A., Rust, D.M.: 1996, Interplanetary magnetic clouds, helicity conservation, and current-core flux-ropes. J. Geophys. Res. 101, 15667. DOI. ADS.
Larson, D.E., Lin, R.P., McTiernan, J.M., McFadden, J.P., Ergun, R.E., McCarthy, M., Rème, H., Sanderson, T.R., Kaiser, M., Lepping, R.P., Mazur, J.: 1997, Tracing the topology of the October 18-20, 1995, magnetic cloud with ∼0.1-10² keV electrons. Geophys. Res. Lett. 24, 1911. DOI. ADS.
Lepping, R.P., Jones, J.A., Burlaga, L.F.: 1990, Magnetic field structure of interplanetary magnetic clouds at 1 AU. J. Geophys. Res. 95, 11957. DOI. ADS.
Lepping, R.P., Wu, C.-C., Berdichevsky, D.B.: 2005, Automatic identification of magnetic clouds and cloud-like regions at 1 AU: occurrence rate and other properties. Ann. Geophys. 23, 2687. DOI. ADS.
Lepping, R.P., Berdichevsky, D.B., Wu, C.-C., Szabo, A., Narock, T., Mariani, F., Lazarus, A.J., Quivers, A.J.: 2006, A summary of WIND magnetic clouds for years 1995-2003: model-fitted parameters, associated errors and classifications. Ann. Geophys. 24, 215. DOI. ADS.
Lugaz, N., Manchester, I.W.B., Gombosi, T.I.: 2005, Numerical simulation of the interaction of two coronal mass ejections from sun to Earth. Astrophys. J. 634, 651. DOI. ADS.
Lugaz, N., Temmer, M., Wang, Y., Farrugia, C.J.: 2017, The interaction of successive coronal mass ejections: a review. Solar Phys. 292, 64. DOI. ADS.
Marubashi, K.: 1986, Structure of the interplanetary magnetic clouds and their solar origins. Adv. Space Res. 6, 335. DOI. ADS.
Marubashi, K., Lepping, R.P.: 2007, Long-duration magnetic clouds: a comparison of analyses using torus- and cylinder-shaped flux rope models. Ann. Geophys. 25, 2453. DOI. ADS.
Mierla, M., Inhester, B., Antunes, A., Boursier, Y., Byrne, J.P., Colaninno, R., Davila, J., de Koning, C.A., Gallagher, P.T., Gissot, S., Howard, R.A., Howard, T.A., Kramar, M., Lamy, P., Liewer, P.C., Maloney, S., Marqué, C., McAteer, R.T.J., Moran, T., Rodriguez, L., Srivastava, N., St. Cyr, O.C., Stenborg, G., Temmer, M., Thernisien, A., Vourlidas, A., West, M.J., Wood, B.E., Zhukov, A.N.: 2010, On the 3-D reconstruction of coronal mass ejections using coronagraph data. Ann. Geophys. 28, 203. DOI. ADS.
Mulligan, T., Russell, C.T.: 2001, Multispacecraft modeling of the flux rope structure of interplanetary coronal mass ejections: cylindrically symmetric versus nonsymmetric topologies. J. Geophys. Res. 106, 10581. DOI. ADS.
Mustajab, F., Badruddin: 2011, Geoeffectiveness of the interplanetary manifestations of coronal mass ejections and solar-wind stream-stream interactions. Astrophys. Space Sci. 331, 91. DOI. ADS.
Owens, M.J., Lockwood, M., Barnard, L.A.: 2020, The value of CME arrival time forecasts for space weather mitigation. Space Weather 18, e02507. DOI. ADS.
Plunkett, S.P., Thompson, B.J., St. Cyr, O.C., Howard, R.A.: 2001, Solar source regions of coronal mass ejections and their geomagnetic effects. J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys. 63, 389. DOI. ADS.
Qiu, S., Zhang, Z., Yousof, H., Soon, W., Jia, M., Tang, W., Dou, X.: 2022, The interplanetary origins of geomagnetic storm with Dst\(_{min}\) ≤ – 50 nT during solar cycle 24 (2009-2019). Adv. Space Res. 70, 2047. DOI. ADS.
Rawat, R., Echer, E., Gonzalez, W.D.: 2018, How different are the solar wind-interplanetary conditions and the consequent geomagnetic activity during the ascending and early descending phases of the solar cycles 23 and 24? J. Geophys. Res. 123, 6621. DOI. ADS.
Richardson, I.G., Cane, H.V.: 2012, Solar wind drivers of geomagnetic storms during more than four solar cycles. J. Space Weather Space Clim. 2, A01. DOI. ADS.
Romashets, E.P., Vandas, M.: 2003, Force-free field inside a toroidal magnetic cloud. Geophys. Res. Lett. 30, 2065. DOI. ADS.
Russell, C.T., Shinde, A.A., Jian, L.: 2005, A new parameter to define interplanetary coronal mass ejections. Adv. Space Res. 35, 2178. DOI. ADS.
Shen, C., Wang, Y., Pan, Z., Miao, B., Ye, P., Wang, S.: 2014, Full-halo coronal mass ejections: arrival at the Earth. J. Geophys. Res. 119, 5107. DOI. ADS.
Shen, C., Chi, Y., Wang, Y., Xu, M., Wang, S.: 2017, Statistical comparison of the ICME’s geoeffectiveness of different types and different solar phases from 1995 to 2014. J. Geophys. Res. 122, 5931. DOI. ADS.
Shen, C., Xu, M., Wang, Y., Chi, Y., Luo, B.: 2018, Why the shock-ICME complex structure is important: learning from the early 2017 September CMEs. Astrophys. J. 861, 28. DOI. ADS.
Shen, C., Chi, Y., Xu, M., Wang, Y.: 2021, Origination of extremely intense south component of magnetic field (B_s) in the ICME. Frontiers Phys. 9, 673. DOI. ADS.
Temmer, M., Rollett, T., Möstl, C., Veronig, A.M., Vršnak, B., Odstrčil, D.: 2011, Influence of the ambient solar wind flow on the propagation behavior of interplanetary coronal mass ejections. Astrophys. J. 743, 101. DOI. ADS.
Vandas, M., Romashets, E.P.: 2003, A force-free field with constant alpha in an oblate cylinder: a generalization of the lundquist solution. Astron. Astrophys. 398, 801. DOI. ADS.
Vourlidas, A.: 2014, The flux rope nature of coronal mass ejections. Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 56, 064001. DOI. ADS.
Vršnak, B., Žic, T.: 2007, Transit times of interplanetary coronal mass ejections and the solar wind speed. Astron. Astrophys. 472, 937. DOI. ADS.
Wang, Y.M., Ye, P.Z., Wang, S.: 2003, Multiple magnetic clouds: several examples during March-April 2001. J. Geophys. Res. 108, 1370. DOI. ADS.
Wang, Y.M., Ye, P.Z., Wang, S., Zhou, G.P., Wang, J.X.: 2002, A statistical study on the geoeffectiveness of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections from March 1997 to December 2000. J. Geophys. Res. 107, 1340. DOI. ADS.
Wang, Y., Zheng, H., Wang, S., Ye, P.: 2005, MHD simulation of the formation and propagation of multiple magnetic clouds in the heliosphere. Astron. Astrophys. 434, 309. DOI. ADS.
Wang, Y., Zhou, Z., Shen, C., Liu, R., Wang, S.: 2015, Investigating plasma motion of magnetic clouds at 1 AU through a velocity-modified cylindrical force-free flux rope model. J. Geophys. Res. 120, 1543. DOI. ADS.
Webb, D.F., Howard, R.A.: 1994, The solar cycle variation of coronal mass ejections and the solar wind mass flux. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 4201. DOI. ADS.
Xu, M., Shen, C., Wang, Y., Luo, B., Chi, Y.: 2019, Importance of shock compression in enhancing ICME’s geoeffectiveness. Astrophys. J. Lett. 884, L30. DOI. ADS.
Xue, X.H., Wang, Y., Ye, P.Z., Wang, S., Xiong, M.: 2005, Analysis on the interplanetary causes of the great magnetic storms in solar maximum (2000 2001). Planet. Space Sci. 53, 443. DOI. ADS.
Yermolaev, Y.I., Lodkina, I.G., Dremukhina, L.A., Yermolaev, M.Y., Khokhlachev, A.A.: 2021, What solar-terrestrial link researchers should know about interplanetary drivers. Universe 7, 138. DOI. ADS.
Zhang, G., Burlaga, L.F.: 1988, Magnetic clouds, geomagnetic disturbances, and cosmic ray decreases. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 2511. DOI. ADS.
Zhang, J., Dere, K.P., Howard, R.A., Bothmer, V.: 2003, Identification of solar sources of major geomagnetic storms between 1996 and 2000. Astrophys. J. 582, 520. DOI. ADS.
Zhang, J., Richardson, I.G., Webb, D.F., Gopalswamy, N., Huttunen, E., Kasper, J.C., Nitta, N.V., Poomvises, W., Thompson, B.J., Wu, C.-C., Yashiro, S., Zhukov, A.N.: 2007, Solar and interplanetary sources of major geomagnetic storms (Dst \(\leq-100\) nT) during 1996-2005. J. Geophys. Res. 112, A10102. DOI. ADS.
Zhang, J., Temmer, M., Gopalswamy, N., Malandraki, O., Nitta, N.V., Patsourakos, S., Shen, F., Vršnak, B., Wang, Y., Webb, D., Desai, M.I., Dissauer, K., Dresing, N., Dumbović, M., Feng, X., Heinemann, S.G., Laurenza, M., Lugaz, N., Zhuang, B.: 2021, Earth-affecting solar transients: a review of progresses in solar cycle 24. Prog. Earth Planet. Sci. 8, 56. DOI. ADS.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the use of data from the Wind and the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellites and World Data Center-Sunspot Index and Long-term Solar Observations (WDC-SILSO), Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels. We would like to thank the team of Solar-Terrestrial Exploration and Physics (STEP) at the University of Science and Technology of China for providing the ICME list and fitting models. This work is supported by grants from the NSFC (42188101, 42325405, 42130204, 41904151, 42074222) and the Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB41000000).
Funding
This work was supported by grants from the NSFC (42188101, 42325405, 42130204, 41904151, 42074222) and the Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB41000000).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Z. Z., C. S., and Y. C. wrote the main manuscript text. D. M., J. L., M. X., Z. Z., C. W., and Y. W. contributed to discussions and offered revisions suggestions.
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, Z., Shen, C., Chi, Y. et al. Comparison of I-ICME and M-ICME Fittings and In Situ Observation Parameters for Solar Cycles 23 and 24 and Their Influence on Geoeffectiveness. Sol Phys 298, 138 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-023-02225-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-023-02225-3