We have examined the average behaviors of the solar-wind parameters and the geomagnetic-activity indices. There is a good correlation between the increasing pressure at the magnetopause and the intense magnetospheric disturbances.
The ultra-low frequency power spectra for the geomagnetic disturbances have been analyzed and tested. Although the spectrum shows remarkable and stable peaks at the wavelengths 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.3 years, additional significant peaks of 73 d, 1.5 y, 5.1 y and 9.2 y for Ap and 73 d and 1.4 y for the product BSV 2 are also found.
However, the 73-d and 5.1-y variations correspond to a
non-obvious physical process in the Sun. The Sun may reflect some irregular variations, basically not fundamental, which appear at different times. A comparison of both spectra for periods > 0.5 year suggests different solar origins. Both spectra have different power amplitudes
and peaks at different locations. Our study confirmed
1.4–1.5 year oscillations in BSV 2 measurements between 1987 and 2000, and located slightly higher than the Kp peaks (∼ 1.3 y). Although many papers have discussed periodicities in the Ap index, a 9.2-year period has not been reported previously. There is some indication of an association with the coronal-hole variations in the southern hemisphere of the Sun. The conjunction of the Sun observations and SW measurements may be used to estimate the disturbances in the geomagnetic activity in the heliosphere
