Preliminary investigation of the GIC development during the strongest magnetic storms of solar cycle 24 in Greece 

Zoe Boutsi - National Observatory of Athens, Greece; Georgios Balasis - Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, Greece; Ioannis A. Daglis - Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece 

Session: QV - Ground-Level Geomagnetically Induced Currents

Abstract

Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC) constitute an integral part of the space weather research and a subject of ever-growing attention for countries located in the low and middle latitudes. A series of recent studies highlights the importance of considering GIC risks for the Mediterranean region. The HellENIc GeoMagnetic Array (ENIGMA) is a network of 4 ground-based magnetometer stations in the areas of Thessaly, Central Greece, Peloponnese and Crete in Greece that provides geomagnetic measurements for the study of pulsations, resulting from the solar wind - magnetosphere coupling. ENIGMA magnetometer array enables effective remote sensing of geospace dynamics and the study of space weather effects on the ground (i.e. GIC). ENIGMA contributes data to SuperMAG, a worldwide collaboration of organizations and national agencies that currently operate approximately 300 ground-based magnetometers. Here, we exploit ENIGMA data in order to study the spatio-temporal variations of the geomagnetic field that emanate during active geospace conditions. We investigate the possibility that these variations produce geomagnetically induced currents and provide an estimation of their intensity, focusing on the most intense magnetic storms of solar cycle 24.