Survey of intense Sun–Earth connection events (1995–2003) Original Research Article

We survey the interplanetary (IP) configurations associated with the largest energy and/or power inputs to the magnetosphere in 1995–2003, i.e., from the last 2 years of solar cycle 22 to the descending phase of solar cycle 23. We work in the “ϵ” formulation of [Perreault, P., Akasofu, S.-I. A study of geomagnetic storms, Geophys. J.R. Astron. Soc., 54, 547, 1978]. Using this, we calculate the energy extracted by the magnetosphere from the solar wind, and the powering of the magnetosphere by the solar wind. We carry out a statistical survey to obtain the distribution of power deposition and energy input during this 9-year period. Large events are then defined as those whose energy exceeds 10 J m−2 and/or whose power exceeds 0.3 mW m−2. We then correlate the large events with the strength of geomagnetic disturbances they elicited, as measured by the Dst storm index. Finally, the large events are classified in terms of the IP structures involved.