Date of Award

Spring 2005

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Space Science

Department

Physical Sciences

Committee Chair

Dr. James Wanliss, Chair

Committee Advisor

Dr. John Olivero

Committee Member

Dr. Mahmut Reyhanoglu

Committee Member

Dr. Hong Liu

Abstract

Ground-based magnetometer data were analyzed for the period of 1991-2001. The data were classified into periods of quiet and active magnetospheric activity. Those periods classified as quiet required that Kp < 1 for not less than 48 consecutive hours and active periods required a Kp > 4 for not less than 24 consecutive hours. Detrended fluctuation analysis was employed to analyze 40 events. A monofractal approach was used to identify differences in the Hurst exponent of quiet and active events. No statistical differences were found using this approach since both types of events displayed quasirandom walk behavior. A second approach determined the temporal variations in the Hurst exponent for each event. The Hurst exponent is temporally dynamic — active events are more correlated than quiet events - suggesting a multifractional rather than monofractal behavior. The results are useful to suggest an appropriate model of magnetic field fluctuations.

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