Geomagnetic Variations in Earth’s Atmosphere Driven by Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections

Abstract

In this paper, we have identified and studied five major geomagnetic storms whose disturbance storm time Dst < –100 nT was calculated and examined during Solar Cycle 24 and the ascending phase of Solar Cycle 25. There have been five geomagnetic storms found on March 17, 2015; December 20, 2015; September 8, 2017; August 26, 2018; and November 4, 2021, with Dst magnitudes of –234, –155, –124, –174, and –105, correspondingly. Correlation analysis of hourly plasma parameters and Kp indices (April 22–26, 2023) shows a strong relationship (Cr = 0.76) between the IMF B component and the Kp index. The solar and interplanetary parameters as well as their connection with the parameters of geomagnetic storms, have been studied in this paper. In this study, we found that coronal mass ejection is the principal cause of severe storms. It has been determined that there is a positive correlation between sunspot numbers and solar flux (F10.7), with a correlation coefficient of 0.95. The investigation aims to evaluate how the results might be applied practically to enhance forecast accuracy and mitigation strategies for safeguarding critical infrastructure, such as satellite operations, power grids, and communication networks, during geomagnetic storms.