Analysis of propagation delays of compressional Pi 2 waves between geosynchronous altitude and low latitudes

The propagation of compressional Pi 2 waves in the inner magnetosphere is investigated by analyzing the onset delay times between the ground and the geosynchronous altitude. We use the compressional component (northward) of magnetic data from low-latitude stations and the geosynchronous satellite ETS-VIII (GMLat. =−10.8°, GMLon. = 217.5°). The onset delays are determined by a cross-correlation analysis, and we analyzed the events with high waveform correlations (correlation coefficient greater than 0.75). Some of these high-correlation events have the properties of propagating waves; Pi 2 waveforms at the ground stations and the satellite were synchronized with each other when the data were shifted by onset delays. The results of the statistical analysis show that 87% of the Pi 2 onsets at a ground station (Kuju, GMLat. = 26.13°, GMLon. = 202.96°) were delayed from the Pi 2 onsets at ETS-VIII, and the average of the delay times was 29 sec. This clearly shows Pi 2 onsets (initial perturbations of Pi 2) propagated from the geosynchronous altitude to the low-latitude ground. The delay times tended to be larger around the midnight sector than around the dawn and dusk sectors. These results are consistent with two-dimensional propagation of fast waves estimated by the model of Uozumi et al. (J Geophys Res 114:A11207, 2009). The delay times are nearly identical to the travel time of fast waves from geosynchronous altitude to the low-latitude ground, and the local time variation of the delay shows the azimuthal propagation along the geosynchronous orbit. We conclude that the initial compressional perturbations of Pi 2 waves propagate radially and longitudinally as a fast wave in the inner magnetosphere.