Morphology and physics of short-period magnetic pulsations

This review is devoted to the main problems of experimental and theoretical investigations of geoelectromagnetic waves in the frequency range from 0.1 to 5 Hz. These waves constitute the short-period subclass of so-called geomagnetic pulsations. The short-period pulsations are represented by Pc1, Pc2, Pi1, Ipdp types and some subclassifications. The understanding of the pulsation mechanisms provides an insight into the structure and dynamics of the Earth's magnetosphere. We focus our attention on Pc1 ‘pearl’ pulsations and on the classical (evening) Ipdp, for which basic physical concepts have been established. Other types and varieties are outlined also, but in less detail. In these cases, the physical mechanism is not always clear (as, for example, in the case of morning Ipdp), and/or the morphology is still to be determined carefully (Pc2 and discrete signals in polar cusps as typical examples).