On heliophysical and geophysical phenomena during October-November 2003

A study of the geomagnetic storm of November 20-21, 2003, is presented using Solar X-rays data, solar wind parameters and magnetic index, Dst. The results suggest that very large X class flares may not cause very intense geomagnetic storms, as flares of M importance would do. Furthermore, the results suggest that the solar wind structure that was responsible for this storm is of the shock-driver gas configuration in which the sheath is the most geoeffective element. Presently it is shown that an intense storm can be driven by two successive southward B (z) structures without a resultant "double dip" at the boundary of these structures within the corresponding interval of the main phase. Furthermore, this study confirms earlier results that show that pressure enhancement does not cause the direct injection of new particles into the ring current region; rather it causes a local adiabatic energization of the particles already within the ring current region.