Magnetospheric reconfiguration during the substorm cycle as inferred from the data-based modeling.

Author(s):  
Nikolai Tsyganenko ◽  
Varvara Andreeva ◽  
Mikhail Sitnov ◽  
Jesper Gjerloev ◽  
Xiangning Chu ◽  
...  

<p>First results are presented of reconstructing the evolution of magnetospheric configurations through the full cycle of isolated substorms. The modeling covers the low- and mid-latitude magnetosphere in the range of radial distances from 2 to 20 Re and is based on a synthesis of (1) a high-resolution representation of the magnetic field by cylindrical basis functions, (2) the ever largest pool of magnetospheric and interplanetary data spanning the last quarter century (1995-2019), (3) an archive of concurrent ground-based indices and their temporal trends, quantifying the geomagnetic activity over the full range of latitudes, including the low-latitude ring current SMR-index, the midlatitude positive bay MPB-index, the auroral SML-index, and the polar cap PC-index, (4) the data-mining nearest-neighbour (NN) technique of the data selection and weighting in the geometric and parametric spaces. The obtained successive diagrams of magnetic depression/compression, electric current, and field line maps demonstrate all the typical features of the substorm cycle: the initial relatively slow stretching of the nightside tail during the growth phase, followed by its sudden collapse associated with a dramatic disruption of the tail current at R~11-16 Re, and finally a gradual recovery of the configuration after the expansion phase is over.</p>

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 2757-2774 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Rème ◽  
I. Dandouras ◽  
C. Aoustin ◽  
J. M. Bosqued ◽  
J. A. Sauvaud ◽  
...  

Abstract. On 29 December 2003, the Chinese spacecraft Tan Ce 1 (TC-1), the first component of the Double Star mission, was successfully launched within a low-latitude eccentric orbit. In the framework of the scientific cooperation between the Academy of Sciences of China and ESA, several European instruments, identical to those developed for the Cluster spacecraft, were installed on board this spacecraft. The HIA (Hot Ion Analyzer) instrument on board the TC-1 spacecraft is an ion spectrometer nearly identical to the HIA sensor of the CIS instrument on board the 4 Cluster spacecraft. This instrument has been specially adapted for TC-1. It measures the 3-D distribution functions of the ions between 5 eV/q and 32 keV/q without mass discrimination. TC-1 is like a fifth Cluster spacecraft to study the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere and to study geomagnetic storms and magnetospheric substorms in the near equatorial plane. HIA was commissioned in February 2004. Due to the 2 RE higher apogee than expected, some in-flight improvements were needed in order to use HIA in the solar wind in the initial phase of the mission. Since this period HIA has obtained very good measurements in the solar wind, the magnetosheath, the dayside and nightside plasma sheet, the ring current and the radiation belts. We present here the first results in the different regions of the magnetosphere and in the solar wind. Some of them are very new and include, for example, ion dispersion structures in the bow shock and ion beams close to the magnetopause. The huge interest in the orbit of TC-1 is strongly demonstrated.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1021-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. T. Aikio ◽  
T. Pitkänen ◽  
I. Honkonen ◽  
M. Palmroth ◽  
O. Amm

Abstract. The polar cap boundary (PCB) location and motion in the nightside ionosphere has been studied by using measurements from the EISCAT radars and the MIRACLE magnetometers during a period of four substorms on 18 February 2004. The OMNI database has been used for observations of the solar wind and the Geotail satellite for magnetospheric measurements. In addition, the event was modelled by the GUMICS-4 MHD simulation. The simulation of the PCB location was in a rather good agreement with the experimental estimates at the EISCAT longitude. During the first three substorm expansion phases, neither the local observations nor the global simulation showed any poleward motions of the PCB, even though the electrojets intensified. Rapid poleward motions of the PCB took place only in the early recovery phases of the substorms. Hence, in these cases the nightside reconnection rate was locally higher in the recovery phase than in the expansion phase. In addition, we suggest that the IMF Bz component correlated with the nightside tail inclination angle and the PCB location with about a 17-min delay from the bow shock. By taking the delay into account, the IMF northward turnings were associated with dipolarizations of the magnetotail and poleward motions of the PCB in the recovery phase. The mechanism behind this effect should be studied further.


2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (10/12) ◽  
pp. 1259-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Gurnett ◽  
R. L. Huff ◽  
J. S. Pickett ◽  
A. M. Persoon ◽  
R. L. Mutel ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this report we present the first results from the Cluster wideband plasma wave investigation. The four Cluster spacecraft were successfully placed in closely spaced, high-inclination eccentric orbits around the Earth during two separate launches in July – August 2000. Each spacecraft includes a wideband plasma wave instrument designed to provide high-resolution electric and magnetic field wave-forms via both stored data and direct downlinks to the NASA Deep Space Network. Results are presented for three commonly occurring magnetospheric plasma wave phenomena: (1) whistlers, (2) chorus, and (3) auroral kilometric radiation. Lightning-generated whistlers are frequently observed when the spacecraft is inside the plasmasphere. Usually the same whistler can be detected by all spacecraft, indicating that the whistler wave packet extends over a spatial dimension at least as large as the separation distances transverse to the magnetic field, which during these observations were a few hundred km. This is what would be expected for nonducted whistler propagation. No case has been found in which a strong whistler was detected at one spacecraft, with no signal at the other spacecraft, which would indicate ducted propagation. Whistler-mode chorus emissions are also observed in the inner region of the magnetosphere. In contrast to lightning-generated whistlers, the individual chorus elements seldom show a one-to-one correspondence between the spacecraft, indicating that a typical chorus wave packet has dimensions transverse to the magnetic field of only a few hundred km or less. In one case where a good one-to-one correspondence existed, significant frequency variations were observed between the spacecraft, indicating that the frequency of the wave packet may be evolving as the wave propagates. Auroral kilometric radiation, which is an intense radio emission generated along the auroral field lines, is frequently observed over the polar regions. The frequency-time structure of this radiation usually shows a very good one-to-one correspondence between the various spacecraft. By using the microsecond timing available at the NASA Deep Space Net-work, very-long-baseline radio astronomy techniques have been used to determine the source of the auroral kilometric radiation. One event analyzed using this technique shows a very good correspondence between the inferred source location, which is assumed to be at the electron cyclotron frequency, and a bright spot in the aurora along the magnetic field line through the source.Key words. Ionosphere (wave-particle interactions; wave propagation) – Magnetospheric physics (plasma waves and instabilities; instruments and techniques)


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1243-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Moldwin ◽  
Shasha Zou ◽  
Tom Heine

Abstract. The name “plume” has been given to a variety of plasma structures in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. Some plumes (such as the plasmasphere plume) represent elevated plasma density, while other plumes (such as the equatorial F region plume) represent low-density regions. Despite these differences these structures are either directly related or connected in the causal chain of plasma redistribution throughout the system. This short review defines how plumes appear in different measurements in different regions and describes how plumes can be used to understand magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. The story of the plume family helps describe the emerging conceptual framework of the flow of high-density–low-latitude ionospheric plasma into the magnetosphere and clearly shows that strong two-way coupling between ionospheric and magnetospheric dynamics occurs not only in the high-latitude auroral zone and polar cap but also through the plasmasphere. The paper briefly reviews, highlights and synthesizes previous studies that have contributed to this new understanding.


2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1865-1876 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. DeJong ◽  
X. Cai ◽  
R. C. Clauer ◽  
J. F. Spann

Abstract. Using Polar UVI LBHl and IMAGE FUV WIC data, we have compared the auroral signatures and polar cap open flux for isolated substorms, sawteeth oscillations, and steady magnetospheric convection (SMC) events. First, a case study of each event type is performed, comparing auroral signatures and open magnetic fluxes to one another. The latitude location of the auroral oval is similar during isolated substorms and SMC events. The auroral intensity during SMC events is similar to that observed during the expansion phase of an isolated substorm. Examination of an individual sawtooth shows that the auroral intensity is much greater than the SMC or isolated substorm events and the auroral oval is displaced equatorward making a larger polar cap. The temporal variations observed during the individual sawtooth are similar to that observed during the isolated substorm, and while the change in polar cap flux measured during the sawtooth is larger, the percent change in flux is similar to that measured during the isolated substorm. These results are confirmed by a statistical analysis of events within these three classes. The results show that the auroral oval measured during individual sawteeth contains a polar cap with, on average, 150% more magnetic flux than the oval measured during isolated substorms or during SMC events. However, both isolated substorms and sawteeth show a 30% decrease in polar cap magnetic flux during the dipolarization (expansion) phase.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.G. Rastogi ◽  
H. Chandra ◽  
Rahul Shah ◽  
N.B. Trivedi ◽  
S.L. Fontes

The paper describes the characteristics of the equatorial electrojet at Huancayo (HUA, 12.1oS, 75.3oW, inclination 1.5oN, declination 1.0oE) in western side of South America, where the geomagnetic field is aligned almost along the geographic meridian, and at Itinga (ITI, 4.3oS, 47.oW, inclination 1.4oN, declination 19.3oW) in eastern part of South America, where the geomagnetic field is aligned about 19o west of the geographic meridian; although the mean intensity of the magnetic field in the two regions are almost of the same order. Further comparisons are made of the current at Itinga and at Tatuoca (TTB, 1.2oS, 48.5oW, inclination 7.8o N, declination 18.7oW), a low latitude station in the same longitude sector. The daily range of horizontal component of the geomagnetic field, H, is shown to be almost 16% higher at HUA compared to that at ITI. The daily variation of the eastward field, Y, showed a strong minimum of -40 nT around 13-14 hr LT at ITI whereas very low values were observed at HUA with a positive peak of about 4 nT around 11- 12 hr LT. The vertical field, Z, showed abnormally large negative values of -70 nT at TTB around 13 hr LT. The day-today fluctuations of midday and midnight values of X field were positively correlated between HUA and ITI with a high correlation coefficient of 0.78 and 0.88 respectively. Values of Y field were also significantly positively correlated between HUA and ITI for midnight hours (0.72), while no correlation was observed for the midday hours. The midnight values of X field at HUA, ITI and TTB showed significant (0.90 or greater) correlation with Dst index. Correlation values of about 0.7 were observed between Dst and midday values of X at ITI and TTB and to a lesser degree (0.4) at HUA.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Yu. Kulikov ◽  
Anton A. Nechaev ◽  
Mikhail V. Belikovich ◽  
Tatiana S. Ermakova ◽  
Alexander M. Feigin

Abstract. The Technical Note presents a statistically correct approach to evaluating simultaneous measurements of several atmospheric components under the assumption of photochemical equilibrium. We consider simultaneous measurements of OH, HO2, and O3 at the altitudes of the mesosphere as a specific example and their daytime photochemical equilibrium as an evaluating relationship. A simplified algebraic equation relating local concentrations of these components in the 50–100 km altitude range has been derived. The parameters of the equation are air temperature, air concentration, local zenith angle, and the rates of 9 reactions. We have performed one-year simulation of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere using a 3D chemical-transport model. The simulation shows that the discrepancy between the calculated evolution of the components and the equilibrium value given by the equation does not exceed 3–4 % in the full range of altitudes independent of season or latitude. We have developed the technique of statistic Bayesian evaluation of simultaneous measurements of OH, HO2 and O3 based on the equilibrium equation taking into account the measurement error. The first results of application of the technique to MLS/Aura data are presented in this Technical Note. It has been found that the satellite data of HO2 distribution regularly demonstrates essentially lower altitudes of mesospheric maximum of this component. This has also been confirmed by offline retrieval of HO2 from the MLS primary data.


2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 773-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. K. Patra ◽  
S. Sripathi ◽  
P. B. Rao ◽  
K. S. V. Subbarao

Abstract. The first results of simultaneous observations made on the low-latitude field-aligned irregularities (FAI) using the MST radar located at Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E, dip 12.5°) and the Es parameters using an ionosonde at a nearby station Sriharikota (13.7° N, 80.1° E, dip 12.6°) are presented. The observations show that while the height of the most intense radar echoes is below the virtual height of Es (h'Es) during daytime, it is found to be either below or above during nighttime. The strength of the FAI is better correlated with the top penetration frequency (ftEs) and the blanketing frequency (fbEs) during the night (r=0.4 in both cases) as compared to the day (r=0.35 and -0.04, respectively). Furthermore, the signal strength of FAI is reasonably correlated with (ftEs-fbEs) during daytime (r=0.59) while very poorly correlated during nighttime (r=0.18). While the radar observations in general appear to have characteristics close to that of mid-latitudes, the relationship of these with the Es parameters are poorer than that of mid-latitudes. The observations reported here, nevertheless, are quite consistent with the expectations based on the gradient drift instability mechanism.


1980 ◽  
Vol 91 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Randolph H. Levine

Numerous studies have provided the detailed information necessary for a substantive synthesis of the empirical relation between the magnetic field of the sun and the structure of the interplanetary field. We will point out the latest techniques and studies of the global solar magnetic field and its relation to the interplanetary field. The potential to overcome most of the limitations of present methods of analysis exists in techniques of modelling the coronal magnetic field using observed solar data. Such empirical models are, in principle, capable of establishing the connection between a given heliospheric point and its magnetically-connected photospheric point, as well as the physical basis for the connection. We thus find ourselves at a plateau, looking back over a quarter century of empirical synthesis while anticipating a new era of detailed physical investigation on a global scale.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document