Statistical Studies of the Relationship between the Amplitude of Positive Magnetic Bays at Mid-Latitudes, Geomagnetic Activity, and Solar Wind Parameters

During the expansion phase of a substorm, the poleward jump of auroras (breakup) and the expansion of the auroral bulge are observed. The expansion is accompanied by a negative magnetic bay under the aurora and a positive magnetic bay at mid-latitudes. The magnitude of the negative bay is characterized by the auroral AL-index. The Mid-Latitude Positive Bay index (MPB-index) was previously proposed in order to characterize the positive bay. In this article, the statistical relationship of the MPB-index with the geomagnetic activity at different latitudes and with the parameters of the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field is investigated. It is shown that all extremely high values of the MPB-index (above 10 000 nT²) are observed during strong geomagnetic storms (when the Dst-index falls below –100 nT), all extremely strong geomagnetic storms (when the Dst-index falls below –250 nT) are accompanied by extremely high values of the MPB-index. Statistically, the MPB-index increases with increasing geomagnetic activity at any latitude. On average, the MPB-index increases with increasing interplanetary magnetic field magnitudes and any of its components. However, for the Bz-component, large values of the MPB-index are observed at its southward orientation. For the plasma parameters of the solar wind, the MPB-index increases most strongly with the increase of its speed. The dependence on the dynamic pressure and on the value of the E_Y-component of the electric field of the solar wind is also strong. However, the MPB-index weakly depends on the density and temperature of the solar wind.