A Study of the Characteristics of the Induced Geoelectric Field of Geomagnetic Storms in March 1989

On March 13, 1989, the geomagnetic field disturbance (GMD) of an intense geomagnetic storm caused a power blackout in Canada. It is necessary to study whether the induced geoelectric field by similar GMD would have a serious impact on the low-latitude grid. In this paper, the GMD data of the geomagnetic storm on March 13,1989 at Beijing Geomagnetic Station are converted into digital data, and the magnetotelluric (MT) sounding data of the east of Mongolia are used to calculate the induced geoelectric field by the GMD using the plane wave theory. Characteristics of amplitude and variation of the induced geoelectric field by the geomagnetic storm on March 13, 1989 are studied. The results show that the geomagnetic storm on March 13, 1989 can produce the induced geoelectric field with the maximum value of 1.65 V / km in eastern Mongolia, and the maximum geoelectric field appears in the initial phase of the geomagnetic storm. This conclusion is of great significance to understand the harm of the geomagnetic storm.