Multifractal analysis of low-latitude geomagnetic fluctuations

Abstract. The technique of large deviation multifractal spectrum has shown that the high-latitude (77.5° N, 69.2° W) geomagnetic fluctuations can be described from direct dissipation process or loading-unloading regimes of the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling. In this paper, we analyze the H-component of low-latitude (22.4° S, 43.6° W) geomagnetic field variability observed during the month of July 2000 at the Geomagnetic Observatory, Vassouras, RJ, Brazil. The variability pattern during this period is a mixture of quiet and disturbed days including the Bastille Day intense geomagnetic storm on 15 July. Due to the complexity of this data, we pursue a detailed analysis of the geomagnetic fluctuations in different time scales including a multifractal approach using the singular power spectrum deviations obtained from the wavelet transform modulus maxima (WTMM). The results suggest, as observed from high-latitude data, the occurrence of low-latitude multifractal processes driving the intermittent coupling between the solar wind-magnetosphere and geomagnetic field variations. On finer scales possible physical mechanisms in the context of nonlinear magnetosphere response are discussed.