We discuss three ne
w geomagnetic indices [the Inter-Hour Variability (
IHV), the Inter-Diurnal Variability (
IDV), Svalgaard, L.,
Cliver, E.W. The IDV index: its derivation and use in inferring long-term variations of the interplanetary magnetic field strength.
J. Geophys. Res. 110, A12103. doi:10.1029/2005JA011203, 2005; and the Polar Cap Potential (
PCP) index, Le Sager, P., Svalgaard, L. No increase of the interplanetary electric field since 1926. J. Geophys. Res. 109 (A7), A07106. doi:10.1029/2004JA010411, 2004], that are derivable from data available for a century or more. Each of these indices responds directly to either the solar
wind magnetic field strength (
B) or to different combinations of
B and the solar
wind speed (
V). This over-determined system permits a reconstruction of these parameters for the past
![](http://<font color=)
www.sciencedirect.com/scidirimg/entities/223c.gif" alt="not, vert, similar" border=0>150 years. The variation of yearly averages of
B can be described as a constant value (4.6 nT) plus a component varying
with the square root of the sunspot number. Because the latter seems to exhibit a
![](http://<font color=)
www.sciencedirect.com/scidirimg/entities/223c.gif" alt="not, vert, similar" border=0>100 year Gleissberg cycle,
B does as
well. Since 1890, annual averages of
V range from a lo
w of
![](http://<font color=)
www.sciencedirect.com/scidirimg/entities/223c.gif" alt="not, vert, similar" border=0>300 km/s in 1902 to 545 km/s in 2003. The
IHV-index fords a
way to check the calibration of other long-term geomagnetic indices. We find that the
ap-index tracks the variation of
IHV, back to 1932 but that the
aa-index (extended back to 1844) is systematically too lo
w (3–6 nT) before 1957, relative to modern values.