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Short term relationships between solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and tropospheric vorticity patterns

Abstract

IT has been found that the 500—mbar vorticity area index (VAI), which is a rough measure of the strength of the cyclonic activity over the Northern Hemisphere, responds to solar flares in at least two ways. First, there is an increase in the VAI in the first two days after the flare. Then, after the geomagnetic storm which often follows a major solar flare, there is a sharp decrease in the VAI. The results are consistent with earlier studies of the development of pressure troughs in the North Pacific area.

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OLSON, R., ROBERTS, W. & ZEREFOS, C. Short term relationships between solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and tropospheric vorticity patterns. Nature 257, 113–115 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/257113a0

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