Impulse response of the magnetospheric column

The transmission characteristics of a plane stratified model of the earth's magnetospheric to plane hydromagnetic waves incident at the uppermost layer interface have been computed. The computations, performed as a function of the angular frequency of the wave, are used to obtain the ratio of the amplitudes of the tangential magnetic fields in the specified incident waves to the magnetic field amplitudes computed at the layer interface representing the earth's surface. This steady-state transfer function is then Fourier-transformed to obtain simulated time records of the magnetic field at the earth's surface excited by impulsive inputs at the top of the magnetospheric column. Models representing both daytime and nighttime atmospheres during conditions of sunspot minimum are considered. The simulated time records are compared with experimental recording of the geomagnetic field obtained by other investigators.