Determining The Polar Cusp Longitudinal Location From Pc5 Geomagnetic Field Measurements At A Pair Of High Latitude Stations

Abstract

We use low frequency geomagnetic field measurements at two Antarctic stations to statistically investigate the longitudinal location of the polar cusp. The two stations are both located in the polar cap at a geomagnetic latitude close to the cusp latitude; they are separated by one hour in magnetic local time. At each station the Pc5 power maximizes when the station approaches the cusp, i.e. around magnetic local noon. The comparison between the Pc5 power at the two stations allows to determine the longitudinal location of the cusp. Our analysis is conducted considering separately different orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field. The results, which indicate longitudinal shifts of the polar cusp depending on the selected conditions, are discussed in relation to previous studies of the polar cusp location based on polar magnetospheric satellite data.