Geomagnetic field variations during solar eclipses and the geographic location of observing sites

We examine whether the solar eclipse effect is dependent on the geographic conditions under which the geomagnetic field variations are recorded. We concentrate our attention on the dependence of the solar eclipse effect on a number of factors, including, the magnitude of a solar eclipse (defined as the fraction of the angular diameter of the Sun being eclipsed), the magnetic latitude of the observatory, the duration of the observed solar eclipse at the given geomagnetic observatory, and the location of the geomagnetic observatory in the path of the Moon’s shadow. We analyze an average of the 207 geomagnetic field variation data sets observed by 100 INTERMAGNET geomagnetic nodes, during the period from 1991 to 2016. As a result, it is demonstrated that (1) the solar eclipse effect on the geomagnetic field, i.e., an increase in the Y component and decreases in the X, Z and F componenets, becomes more distinct as the magnitude of solar eclipse increases, (2) the solar eclipse effect is most conspicuous when the modulus of the magnetic latitude is between 30^º and 50^º, (3) the more slowly Moon’s shadow passes the geomagnetic observatory, the more clear the solar eclipse effect, (4) the geomagnetic observatory located in the latter half of the path of Moon’s shadow with respect to the position of the greatest eclipse is likely to observe a more clear signal. Finally, we conclude by stressing the importance of our findings.