Probability of Occurrence of Geomagnetic Storms Based on a Study of the Distribution of the Electric Field Amplitudes Measured in Abitibi, Québec, in 1993-94

Abstract

Solar flares emit charged particles and ionizing rays into space which, if they interact with the magnetosphere, induce magnetic and electric fields in the earth. After the loss of power of the entire Hydro-Québec network following a geomagnetic storm in March 1989, a number of companies realized the importance of GICs (geomagnetically induced currents) in power transmission. As part of the effort to understand the causes and effects of GICs, a research team at Hydro-Québec measured the electric and magnetic fields for a period of 500 days at a rate of 8640 points per day and found that the electric fields occur with a probability inversely proportional to their amplitude according to a type x-α law.