Many complex physical systems in Nature are characterized by intermittency.
For these systems, energy at a given scale is not evenly distributed in sp
ace and any variable affected by intermittency alternates strong activity t
o quiescence. Within interplanetary space context, solar wind parameters ar
e highly intermittent. Although the influence of this phenomenon on the sca
ling of solar wind fluctuations has been evaluated using existing intermitt
ency models, it has never been possible to single out intermittent structur
es within a given time series until new methods, based on the use of wavele
ts, have been recently adopted. This new approach to the study of intermitt
ency allows to begin a characterization of those events contributing to sol
ar wind intermittency. Our first results on a single case study of magnetic
field intermittency showed that this event was located at the border betwe
en two adjacent interplanetary regions mainly characterized by different to
tal pressure and bulk velocity, possibly the border between two adjacent fl
ux-tubes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.