Magnetotail variations associated with the southward interplanetary magnetic field

Ten weeks of simultaneous fine time resolution data on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the solar wind parameters observed by the Explorer 33 and Vela 3 satellites, the magnetic field, and the particle fluxes in the magnetotail from the Imp 3 satellite are examined together with auroral zone magnetograms monitoring substorm activity to study the magnetotail variations associated with the latitudinal changes of the IMF. It is found that the magnetotail magnetic field magnitude often increases when the north-south component of the IMF is southward; this increment is generally observed throughout the entire high-latitude tail (outside the plasma sheet). The increment is about 10% of the background field, and it increases to 20% or higher when the north-south component of the IMF increases from the usual 2 or 3 gamma to 7 or 8 gamma.