Energy balance during intense and super-intense magnetic storms using an Akasofu ε parameter corrected by the solar wind dynamic pressure

Geomagnetic storms are large disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by enhanced solar wind–magnetosphere energy transfer. One of the main manifestations of a geomagnetic storm is the ring current enhancement. It is responsible for the decrease in the geomagnetic field observed at ground stations. In this work, we study the ring current dynamics during two different levels of magnetic storms. Thirty-three events are selected during the period 1981–2004. Eighteen out of 33 events are very intense (or super-intense) magnetic storms (Dst ⩽−250 nT) and the remaining are intense magnetic storms (−250−165 nT.