NEAR REAL-TIME ESTIMATION OF GEOMAGNETIC LOCAL K INDEX FROM GYEONGZU MAGNETOMETER

Local K-index is an indicator representing local geomagnetic activity in every 3 hour. For estimation of the local K-index, a reasonable determination of solar quiet curve (undisturbed daily variation of geomagnetic field) is quiet essential. To derive the solar quiet curve, the FMI method, which is one of representative algorithms, uses horizontal components (H and D) of 3 days magnetometer data from the previous day to the next day for a specific day. However, this method is not applicable to real time forecast since it always requires the next day data. In this study, we have devised a new method to estimate local K-index in near real-time by modifying the FMI method. The new method selects a recent quiet day whose Kp indices, reported by NOAA/SEC are all lower than 3, and replace the previous day and the next day data by the recent quiet day data. We estimated 2,672 local K indices from Gyeongzu magnetometer in 2003, and then compared the indices with those from the conventional FMI method. We also compared the K indices with those from Kakioka observatory. As a result, we found that (1) K indices from the new method are nearly consistent with those of the conventional FMI method with a very high correlation (R = 0.96); (2) our local K indices also have a relatively high correlation (R = 0.81) with those from Kakioka station. Our results show that the new method can be used for near real-time estimation of local K indices from Gyeongzu magnetometer.