Tessellation of SoHO magnetograms

A gradient based algorithm which divides arbitrary images into non-overlapping surface filling tiles of opposite polarity is used to study the flux and size distributions of large scale magnetic flux concentrations in solar and heliospheric observatory (SoHO) magnetograms. The mean absolute flux and size of the concentrations at the considered scale is found to be about 1.7 x 10(18) Mx and 5.2 Mm for both polarities. The form of the flux distribution is characterized by a skewness of alpha (3) = 4.9 and a kurtosis of alpha (4) = 42.8. The fall in the distribution in the range 6.5 x 10(17) Mx to 5 x 10(18) Mx is described by an exponential fit, in agreement with a model for the sustenance of quiet region flux.