The Dst index underestimates the solar cycle variation of geomagnetic activity

It is known that the correction of the Kyoto Dst index for the secular variation of the Earth's internal field produces a discontinuity in the Kyoto Dst index at the end of each year. We show that this secular correction also introduces a significant baseline error to the Kyoto Dst index that leads to an underestimate of the solar cycle variation of geomagnetic activity and of the strength of the ring current as measured by the Kyoto Dst index. Thus, the average value of the Kyoto Dst index would be approximately 13 nT more negative for the active year 2003 compared to quiet years 2006 and 2009 if the Kyoto Dst index properly measured the effects of the ring current and other currents that influence the Dst observatories. Discontinuities in the Kyoto Dst index at the end of each year have an average value of about 5 nT, but the discontinuity at the end of year 2002 was approximately 12 nT, and the discontinuity at the end of year 1982 may have been as large as 20 nT.