Pc3 Excitation of the Ionosphere: a Preliminary Analysis

The fast mode (poloidal) Alfven wave should be accompanied by Pc3 events simultaneously in the ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) and ground magnetometer data. We examine this prediction through analyzing both field-line resonance (FLR) and non-FLR pc3 events. Ground magnetometer data collected at a 2-Hz sampling rate from the Glyndon, MN station in the McMAC chain is compared to 1- Hz data from the nearby Pinawa, Manitoba magnetometer station in the CARISMA chain using cross-phase analysis to separate FLR and non-FLR pc3 events. High-data rate GPS (0.5 Hz and 1 Hz) observations of TEC in Moorhead, MN (15 miles from the Glyndon site) are then compared to ground magnetometer data. Preliminary results from a number of events from Oct., 2005 onward show pulsations in TEC occurring in a similar timeframe to the magnetometer pulsations for both FLR and non-FLR occurrences.