Geotail Solar Wind Propagation Data at 1-Minute Resolution

Geotail Weimer propagated solar wind data provides 1-minute resolution measurements of solar wind parameters, including time delay, cosine angle, and goodness information, after propagation to a point near Earth's bow shock. The dataset was constructed by Dr. J.M. Weygand for Prof. R.L. McPherron under National Science Foundation grants ATM 02-1798 and ATM 02-08501. It uses a propagation method based on the minimum variance technique of the magnetic field, as outlined in Dan Weimer et al. [2003; 2004].

Use Cases

• Predicting interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) propagation delays based on the described minimum variance technique.
• Conducting superposed epoch studies of solar wind events using the 1-minute resolution propagated data.
• Analyzing solar wind conditions near Earth's bow shock based on propagated time delay and cosine angle information.
• Modeling space weather impacts by correlating propagated solar wind parameters with magnetospheric activity.

Strengths

• Data is propagated to a consistent reference point just outside the nominal bow shock (about 17, 0, 0 Re).
• Uses a 1-minute resolution processed solar wind input constructed by a named expert (Dr. J.M. Weygand).
• Propagation methodology is peer-reviewed and referenced to specific publications (Weimer et al., 2003, 2004).

Limitations

• The propagation method does not work well for shocks and minimum variance directions with tilts greater than 70 degrees of the sun-earth line.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Solar wind data propagated using CPI and linearly interpolated time delay, based on the minimum variance technique applied to magnetic field data.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 13:42:58.841527; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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