A vector wavelet approach to iono- and magnetospheric geomagnetic satellite data

A multiscale method is introduced using spherical (vector) wavelets for the computation of the earth's magnetic field within source regions of ionosph eric and magnetospheric currents. The considerations are essentially based on two geomathematical keystones, namely (i) the Mie representation of sole noidal vector fields in terms of toroidal and poloidal parts and (ii) the H elmholtz decomposition of spherical (tangential) vector fields. Vector wave lets are shown to provide adequate tools for multiscale geomagnetic modelli ng in form of a multiresolution analysis, thereby completely circumventing the numerical obstacles caused by vector spherical harmonics. The applicabi lity and efficiency of the multiresolution technique is tested with real sa tellite data. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.