Statistical analysis of the mid-latitude trough position during different categories of magnetic storms and different storm intensities

The ionospheric mid-latitude trough minimum position as a function of geomagnetic storm time is identified and investigated statistically in terms of the category and the intensity of storms. The data of ion density derived from DMSP and DEMETER satellites were used to extract the trough position. The variations of mid-latitude trough in 41 moderate magnetic storms and 88 intense magnetic storms in the 23rd solar cycle were studied. The results show that the trough moves toward the equator as Dst index decreases and toward the pole as Dst index increases. Compared with the ICME, MC and CIR storms, in sheath storms the trough shifts to lower latitude at the end of the main phase, although the average storm intensity is weak. During the storm recovery phase, the rapid recovery of the trough position can be seen at the start of the recovery phase for moderate CIR storms. We also calculated the correlation between the minimum latitude of the trough position and the storm magnitude as well as other related main phase parameters during all storms. We found that the minimum latitude of the trough position exhibits a strong correlation with the storm magnitude during magnetic storms. However, the correlation coefficients between the trough position and other related main phase parameters are very low. Open image in new window Graphical abstract .