The average daily magnetic variation pattern and its equivalent current pattern determined by magnetometer data from the IMS Alaska meridian chain of observatories for the period between March 9 and April 27, 1978 are presented in the form of polar plots (magnetic latitude-MLT coordinates). The corresponding equivalent current pattern shows the so-called 'two-cell' pattern. However, the computed ionospheric current pattern using the method developed by Kisabeth (1979) has little resemblance to the 'two-cell' pattern, indicating that the main pattern of the ionospheric currents must be fed by field-aligned currents.