Geomagnetic Indices and The Ring Current

Since the Space Age, the study of the near Earth space environment has become of great importance due to the advent of electrical systems, radio communications, and satellites which are directly affected by the state of the space environment around the Earth.  The study of the ‘weather’ of this space environment comes in many shapes and forms but has mostly centered around the analysis and prediction of disturbances in the environment. These disturbances have been dubbed ‘geomagnetic storms’, and their effects can range from inconsequential  to, in the most severe cases, society altering.  Several features of this space environment create changes at the ground level as they vary which can be measured and assigned values.  In this poster we focus on three such values: Kp, F10.7, and Sym-H/Dst.  The Sym-H/Dst index is of particular interest as it relates to one of the more prominent subsystems of the Earth’s geospace environment, namely the ring current.