George K. Parks

Comprehensive study of the magnetospheric response to a hot flow anomaly

We present a comprehensive observational study of the magnetospheric response to an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) tangential discontinuity, which first struck the postnoon bow shock and magnetopause and then swept past the prenoon bow shock and magnetopause on July 24, 1996. Although unaccompanied by any significant plasma variation, the discontinuity interacted with the bow shock to form a hot flow anomaly (HFA), which was observed by Interball-1 just upstream from the prenoon bow shock. Pressures within and Earthward of the HFA were depressed by an order of magnitude, which allowed the magnetopause to briefly (∼7 min) move outward some 5 RE beyond its nominal position and engulf Interball-1. A timing study employing nearby Interball-1 and Magion-4 observations demonstrates that this motion corresponded to an antisunward and northward moving wave on the magnetopause. The same wave then engulfed Geotail, which was nominally located downstream in the outer dawn magnetosheath. Despite its large amplitude, the wave produced only minor effects in GOES-8 geosynchronous observations near local dawn. Polar Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) observed a sudden brightening of the afternoon aurora, followed by an even more intense transient brightening of the morning aurora. Consistent with this asymmetry, the discontinuity produced only weak near-simultaneous perturbations in high-latitude postnoon ground magnetometers but a transient convection vortex in the prenoon Greenland ground magnetograms. The results of this study indicate that the solar wind interaction with the bow shock is far more dynamic than previously imagined and far more significant to the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction.

Precipitation of relativistic electrons by interaction with electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves

On August 20, 1996, balloon-borne X-ray detectors observed an intense X-ray event as part of a French balloon campaign near Kiruna, Sweden, at 1532 UT (1835 magnetic local time), on an L shell of 5.8. The energy spectrum of this event shows the presence of X rays with energies > 1 MeV, which are best accounted for by atmospheric bremsstrahlung from monoenergetic ∼1.7 MeV precipitating electrons. Ultraviolet images from the Polar satellite and energetic particle data from the Los Alamos geosynchronous satellites show the onset of a small magnetospheric substorm 24 min before the start of the relativistic electron precipitation event. Since the balloon was south of the auroral oval and there was no associated increase in relativistic electron flux at geosynchronous altitude, the event is interpreted as the result of selective precipitation of ambient relativistic electrons from the radiation belts. Pitch angle scattering caused by resonance with electromagnetic ion cyclotron mode waves is the most likely mechanism for selective precipitation of MeV electrons. A model is presented in which wave growth is driven by temperature anisotropies in the drifting substorm-injected proton population. The model predicts that this wave growth and resonance with ∼1.7 MeV electrons will occur preferentially in regions of density >10 cm−3, such as inside the duskside plasmapause bulge or detached plasma regions. The model predictions are consistent with the location of the balloon, the observed energies, and the timing with respect to the substorm energetic particle injection.

Evaluation of low‐latitude Pi2 pulsations as indicators of substorm onset using Polar ultraviolet imagery

Impulsive Pi2 pulsations have long been recognized as one of the key signatures of magnetic activity during substorm periods due to their wide observable range both in latitudes and longitudes. It is well documented that there is usually more than one Pi2 wave burst associated with a substorm and only one of them corresponds to the onset of the substorm. This observational fact poses obstacles to determining substorm onsets with Pi2 signals. Although the Pi2 have become one of the most popular indicators for substorm onsets, the reliability of using the Pi2 in this fashion has not been seriously investigated. In this paper we address this question with a statistical approach by using ∼650 auroral substorm onsets identified with Polar ultraviolet images for a time interval from April 1996 to May 1997. A comparison of the low-latitude Pi2 pulsation onsets from Kakioka (L = 1.07) with the auroral breakups indicates that identifying substorm onset with the Pi2 alone is often ambiguous. Of a total of 119 isolated (defined as ∼10 min of quiet time preceding the onset) Pi2 bursts seen within ∼10 min from a magnetic positive bay, there were 65 events (∼55%) taking place within 3 min from breakups and 34 events (29%) indicating no sign of an auroral breakup within 10 min of the Pi2 burst. This result suggests that Pi2 may not be as a good indicator of the substorm onset as it was thought to be. Interestingly, it is always possible to associate Pi2 pulsations with some forms of auroral intensification. When compared to auroral breakups, Pi2 onsets are subject to a small delay of 1 – 3 min, with a peak around l min. Delays of Pi2 onsets are revealed to be a function of location relative to auroral breakup. This dependence is found to be consistent with the time of flight for a fast-mode wave, in a plasmapause cavity mode model, propagating in the magnetosphere.

Plasmoid ejection and auroral brightenings

Geotail plasma and magnetic field observations of 24 plasmoids between 21 and 29 RE have been compared with Polar ultraviolet observations of auroral brightenings. Both single and multiple plasmoids almost always corresponded to brightenings, but the brightenings were sometimes weak and spatially limited and did not always grow to a global substorm. Even a case where a plasmoid event occurred with fast postplasmoid flow corresponded to a weak brightening but no substorm. Some brightenings did not correspond to plasmoids, but these brightenings were observed away from the longitude of Geotail, indicating that plasmoids have a small longitudinal extent in the near tail. The plasmoids were occasionally observed before the brightenings but more frequently were observed 0–2 min after the brightenings, with the delays probably due to the transit time to the observation point. It seems likely that formation of a near-Earth neutral line causes each brightening in the polar ionosphere, but these formations do not always lead to a full-fledged substorm. What additional circumstance causes development of a full, large-scale substorm remains an open question.

Low-latitude dusk flank magnetosheath, magnetopause, and boundary layer for low magnetic shear: Wind observations

We have studied in detail a Wind spacecraft crossing of the low-latitude dusk flank magnetosheath, magnetopause (MP), and the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) when the local magnetic shear across the MP was low (<30°) and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was northward. We find that the magnetosheath flow tangential to the MP slows down initially as one moves from the bow shock toward the MP. However, close to the MP this flow speeds up as the MP is approached. The source of flow acceleration is likely to be the magnetic force associated with draping of the field lines around the MP. Magnetic flux pile-up and a plasma depletion layer are also observed next to the flank MP indicating that the level of magnetic flux transfer across the entire dayside low-latitude MP via reconnection is low. The MP is characterized by changes in the plasma properties. The electron parallel temperature is enhanced across the MP and continues to increase across the LLBL, while the perpendicular temperature is constant across the MP. This constancy of the perpendicular temperature suggests that the transfer of plasma takes place across the local MP. In the LLBL, the ion and electron temperatures are well correlated with the density. In addition, the flow direction in a substantial portion of the LLBL is nearly aligned with that in the magnetosheath, and the flow speed tangential to the MP decreases gradually with decreasing LLBL density. The behavior of the particle distributions suggests that the entire LLBL was on closed field lines. In essence, our findings on the topology and on the LLBL plasma characteristics suggest that even in the absence of reconnection at the local low-shear MP, the LLBL is locally coupled to the adjacent magnetosheath. The smooth variations of the plasma parameters with the density are consistent with the LLBL spatial profiles being gradual. This may suggest that diffusion processes play a role in the formation and dynamics of the LLBL. Finally, the magnetic field and the state of the plasma in the plasma sheet adjacent to the flank MP/LLBL appear to be functions of the IMF direction. Thus the IMF may control both the external (magnetosheath) and the internal (plasma sheet) boundary conditions for the flank MP processes.

Structure and properties of the subsolar magnetopause for northward interplanetary magnetic field: Multiple‐instrument particle observations

The structure and properties of the subsolar magnetopause for northward interplanetary magnetic feild (IMF) are studied with measurements from 10 different instruments for three ISEE crossings. Data show that the overall structure and properties are similar for the three crossings, indicating the magnetopause is relatively well determined in the subsolar region for strongly northward IMF. The measurements from different instruments are consistent with each other and complementary based on the current knowledge of space plasma physics. The combined data set suggests that the magnetopause region is best organized by defining a sheath transition layer and steplike boundary layers. The sheath transition layer contains mostly magnetosheath particles. The magnetosheath, magnetospheric, and ionospheric populations are mixed in the interior boundary layers. This result, which is consistent with previous studies, is now supported by observations of a much broader spectrum of measurements including three-dimensional electron, energetic particle, heavy ion and plasma wave. Some new features are also found: even for quiet subsolar magnetopause crossings, transient or small-scale structures still occur sporadically; slight heating may occur in the boundary layers. Some outstanding issues are clarified by this study: the electron flux enhancements in the lowest energies in the boundary layers and magnetosphere are ionospheric electrons and not photoelectrons from the spacecraft; for northward IMF, they are photoelectrons, but for southward IMF they may be secondary electrons; and the density measurements from differential and integral techniques are similar, leaving no room for a significant “invisible” population.

Auroral polar cap boundary ion conic outflow observed on FAST

We observe large ion outflow fluxes (> 108 cm−2s−1 mapped to 100 km) flowing from the auroral polar cap boundary on many FAST auroral passes near midnight. The outflow is in the form of ion conies composed mostly of light ions with energies of hundreds of eV. A statistical study of 606 FAST orbits during January and February 1997 was done to determine the MLT distribution and ion outflow properties relative to substorms. We find that the ion conic events occur most frequently near midnight, and therefore their direct magnetic connection to the nightside central plasma sheet makes this ion outflow a candidate for the ionospheric source of the nightside plasma sheet. To study the relationship between the ion conic outflow events and auroral substorm conditions, we use global auroral images acquired from the ultraviolet imager (UVI) on Polar. We find that the outflow events are well correlated with substorm expansion phase, but ion conic outflow events also occur during generally active aurora, when onset and expansion phases were not clearly identifiable. By combining FAST data to determine ion outflow fluxes and ILAT extent and Polar UVI images to determine MLT extent, we estimate the total outflow due to these ion conic events to be 1022 to 1024 ions/s. By comparing with earlier ion outflow studies, we conclude that these polar cap boundary ion conic events are not the dominant or only ionospheric source of ion outflow over the entire auroral oval but are the dominant nightside auroral ion outflow.

Substorm and convection bay compared: Auroral and magnetotail dynamics during convection bay

Using observations from eight spacecraft and a ground network, we study two subsequent bay-like disturbances on December 10, 1996, initiated by southward interplanetary magnetic field intervals, one being a classic substorm and another one a convection bay. Both events showed enhanced convection and Dst decreases as well as Pi2 pulsations in the auroral zone. Contrasting to the well-defined substorm signatures of the first event (poleward auroral expansion, substorm current wedge, strong particle injection to 6.6 R E ) resulting from energy loading/unloading and near-Earth reconnection in the tail, these signatures were virtually absent during the convection bay (CB). Distinctive features of the CB event were the same as those during the Steady Magnetospheric Convection intervals: (1) wide double oval at the nightside; (2) thick plasma sheet, relaxed lobe field, and enhanced magnetic flux closure (large B z ) and multiple bursty earthward flows (BBFs) in the midtail; (3) sporadic narrow soft injections to 6.6 R E ; (4) auroral streamers associated with both BBFs and narrow injections. We emphasize the development of multiple and sporadic auroral streamers which start at the poleward oval boundary, propagate equatorward (in 3-8 min) and end with a long-duration bright spot in the equatorward oval. We conclude that the plasma sheet and auroral dynamics during the convection bay was formed by sporadic narrow (a few R E wide) plasma streams (plasma bubbles) which transported the plasma sheet material from the distant magnetotail reconnection regions to the inner magnetosphere and may significantly contribute to the magnetospheric circulation on the nightside. We modeled the nightside tail configuration using magnetotail magnetic observations and low-altitude particle boundaries to show that at the beginning of the convection bay the increase of magnetic flux tube volume with distance was small in the midtail. Therefore the pressure crisis in the tail was significantly reduced during the convection bay, and the efficient earthward transport by sporadic narrow plasma streams was probably able to balance the magnetospheric circulation to avoid the large-scale instability of the magnetotail.

Three‐dimensional observations of gyrating ion distributions far upstream from the Earth's bow shock and their association with low‐frequency waves

This report discusses the nature of gyrating ion distributions observed on board the Wind spacecraft by the three-dimensional ion electrostatic analyzer with high geometrical factor (3DP PESA-High). The gyrating ion distributions are observed near the inner ion beam foreshock boundary at distances between ∼9 and ∼83 RE. Our upstream measurements confirm several features previously reported using two-dimensional measurements. These distributions are observed in association with low-frequency waves with substantial amplitude (|δB|/B > 0.2). The analysis of the waves shows that they propagate in the right-hand mode roughly along the background magnetic field. The ions are bunched in gyrophase angle when the associated waves are quasi-monochromatic and high in amplitude. The peak of the ion distribution function rotates in the gyrophase plane. If the wave train is nonmonochromatic, the particle phase angle distribution is extended over a larger range, suggesting the occurrence of a phase mixing effect or a source at the shock. The phase angle distribution also seems to be energy-dependent, and no gyrophase rotation is observed in this case. Furthermore, we have characterized the ion distributions by computing their densities as well as parallel and perpendicular velocities. The results clearly indicate that the waves are cyclotron-resonant with the field-aligned beams observed just upstream. The resonance condition strongly suggests the local production of these gyrating ions in a field-aligned-beam disruption. Such a resonant wave-particle interaction may be a dominant characteristic of the back-streaming ion population in the foreshock at large distances from the Earths bow shock.

Ionospheric response to the interplanetary magnetic field southward turning: Fast onset and slow reconfiguration

[1] This paper presents a case study of ionospheric response to an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) southward turning. It is based on a comprehensive set of observations, including a global network of ground magnetometers, global auroral images, and a SuperDARN HF radar. There is a clear evidence for a two-stage ionospheric response to the IMF southward turning, namely, fast initial onset and slow final reconfiguration. The fast onset is manifested by nearly simultaneous (within 2 min) rise of ground magnetic perturbations at all local times, corroborated by a sudden change in the direction of line-of-sight velocity near local midnight and by the simultaneous equatorward shift of the auroral oval. The slow reconfiguration is characterized by the different rising rate of magnetic perturbations with latitudes: faster at high latitude than at lower latitudes. Furthermore, a cross-correlation analysis of the magnetometer data shows that the maximum magnetic perturbation is reached first near local noon, and then spread toward the nightside, corresponding to a dayside-to-nightside propagation speed of ∼5 km/s along the auroral oval. Global ionospheric convection patterns are derived based on ground magnetometer data along with auroral conductances inferred from the Polar UV images, using the assimilative mapping of ionospheric electrodynamics (AMIE) procedure. The AMIE patterns, especially the residual convection patterns, clearly show a globally coherent development of two-cell convection configuration following the IMF southward turning. While the foci of the convection patterns remain nearly steady, the convection flow does intensify with time and the cross-polar-cap potential drop increases. The overall changes as shown in the AMIE convection patterns therefore are fully consistent with the two-stage ionospheric response to the IMF southward turning.