H. Lühr

The Cluster Magnetic Field Investigation

The Cluster mission provides a new opportunity to study plasma processes and structures in the near-Earth plasma environment. Four-point measurements of the magnetic field will enable the analysis of the three dimensional structure and dynamics of a range of phenomena which shape the macroscopic properties of the magnetosphere. Difference measurements of the magnetic field data will be combined to derive a range of parameters, such as the current density vector, wave vectors, and discontinuity normals and curvatures, using classical time series analysis techniques iteratively with physical models and simulation of the phenomena encountered along the Cluster orbit. The control and understanding of error sources which affect the four-point measurements are integral parts of the analysis techniques to be used. The flight instrumentation consists of two, tri-axial fluxgate magnetometers and an on-board data-processing unit on each spacecraft, built using a highly fault-tolerant architecture. High vector sample rates (up to 67 vectors s-1) at high resolution (up to 8 pT) are combined with on-board event detection software and a burst memory to capture the signature of a range of dynamic phenomena. Data-processing plans are designed to ensure rapid dissemination of magnetic-field data to underpin the collaborative analysis of magnetospheric phenomena encountered by Cluster.

The magnetosheath region adjacent to the dayside magnetopause: AMPTE/IRM observations

We have studied 38 low-latitude, dayside (0800-1600 LT) magnetopause crossings by the AMPTE/IRM satellite to investigate the variations of key plasma parameters and the magnetic field in the magnetosheath region adjacent to the dayside magnetopause. We find that the structures of the key plasma parameters and the magnetic field and the dynamics of plasma flows in this region depend strongly on the magnetic shear across the magnetopause, that is, on the angle between the magnetosheath magnetic field and the geomagnetic field. When the magnetic shear is low ( 1. When the magnetic shear across the magnetopause is high (>60°), the near-magnetopause magnetosheath is more disturbed. The magnetic field in this case does not pile up in the immediate vicinity of the magnetopause, and no systematic variations in the plasma parameters are observed in this region until the encounter of the magnetopause current layer; that is, there is no magnetosheath transition layer. Also in contrast to the low-shear case, the mirror instability threshold is marginally satisfied throughout the magnetosheath. The plasma flow pattern in the magnetosheath region adjacent to the dayside magnetopause is also found to depend strongly on the magnetic shear across the magnetopause: the magnetosheath flow component tangential to the magnetopause is enhanced and rotates to become more perpendicular to the local magnetic field as the low-shear magnetopause is approached. This flow behavior may be consistent with the formation of a stagnation line instead of a stagnation point at the subsolar magnetopause. Enhancement and rotation of the magnetosheath flow on approach to the magnetopause are rarely observed when the magnetic shear across the magnetopause is high. In essence, our observations provide evidence for high (low) rate of transfer of magnetic flux and mass across the magnetopause when the magnetic shear is high (low). The relationships between the electron and proton temperature anisotropies and β in the near-magnetopause magnetosheath region are also examined. It is found that Te⊥/Te∥ remains close to 1 for the entire range of βe, whereas Tp⊥/Tp∥ is generally anticorrelated with βp∥. However, no universal relationship seems to exist between Tp⊥/Tp∥ and βp∥.

High‐speed ion flow, substorm current wedge, and multiple Pi 2 pulsations

We have studied the onset timing of earthward high-speed ion flow observed by the AMPTE/IRM satellite at 12.3 Earth radii (RE) and 0100 MLT in the central plasma sheet during an isolated substorm event on March 1, 1985. The timing of this onset is compared with that of the substorm current wedge and Pi 2 magnetic pulsations observed by a large number of ground-based stations and the AMPTE/CCE, GOES 5, and ISEE 1 satellites and with that of high-energy particle injection observed at Los Aimos geosynchronous satellite 1982-019. The onset of earthward high-speed flow is observed 3 min before the onset of the global current wedge formation and 6 min before the onset of high-energy particle injection. The three bursts of the high-speed flow observed at AMPTE/IRM are likely to correspond to three compressional pulses observed at AMPTE/CCE at 6 RE and three Pi 2 wave packets observed at midlatitude ground stations. On the basis of these observations we conclude that the substorm current wedge is caused by inertia current and the current due to flow shear at the braking point of the earthward high-speed flow during the initial stage of the substorm expansion phase. The braking point is well separated from the near-Earth neutral line. It is also suggested that the compressional pulses and fluctuations of field-aligned currents generated at the flow braking point can be the initial cause of the Pi 2 magnetic pulsations in the inner magnetosphere.

Direct penetration of the polar electric field to the equator during a DP 2 event as detected by the auroral and equatorial magnetometer chains and the EISCAT radar

The quasi-periodic DP 2 magnetic fluctuations (period of 30–40 min) appearing coherently at the auroral and equatorial latitudes during the day are analyzed based on the high time resolution magnetometer data recorded at the International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) stations in Scandinavia and at the Brazilian and African equatorial stations. It is shown that the correlation between the DP 2 magnetic fluctuations at both latitudes is excellent (correlation coefficient of 0.9). No discernible time shift has been found within the resolution of 25 s. The European incoherent scatter (EISCAT) radar observations in Scandinavia show that the DP 2 fluctuations at auroral latitudes are caused by an ionospheric Hall current which is controled by the convection electric field. The DP 2 fluctuations exhibit a strong decrease in magnitude with decreasing latitude, however, it is enhanced considerably at the dip equator with an amplitude comparable to that at the subauroral latitude. The considerable equatorial enhancement of the magnitude of the DP 2 fluctuations with an enhancement ratio of 4 is due to the concentration of the electric current along the highly conductive dayside equatorial ionosphere. These observational facts can be explained in terms of an ionospheric current which is generated by the magnetospheric electric field at the high latitude and extends to the equatorial ionosphere almost instantaneously. From the viewpoint of the electric field penetration, we conclude that the magnetospheric electric field penetrates to the equatorial ionosphere through the polar ionosphere almost instantaneously within the time resolution of 25 s. The nearly instantaneous propagation of the electric field to the equator can be explained primarily by a parallel plane transmission line model composed of the conductive Earth and ionosphere. In addition to our finding of the fast propagation of the DP 2 electric field, it is found that an impulsive magnetic change with a timescale of 100 s appears at the dayside dip equator with a time delay of about 10 s, which requires to include the effect of the high conductivity of the dayside equatorial ionosphere in future studies of the propagation model.

Swarm : A constellation to study the Earth's magnetic field

The Swarm mission was selected as the 5th mission in ESA’s Earth Explorer Programme in 2004. The mission will provide the best ever survey of the geomagnetic field and its temporal evolution that will lead to new insights into the Earth system by improving our understanding of the Earth’s interior and its effect on Geospace, the vast region around the Earth where electrodynamic processes are influenced by the Earth’s magnetic field. Scheduled for launch in 2010, the mission will comprise a constellation of three satellites, with two spacecraft flying sideby- side at lower altitude (450 km initial altitude), thereby measuring the East-West gradient of the magnetic field, and the third one flying at higher altitude (530 km). High-precision and high-resolution measurements of the strength, direction and variation of the magnetic field, complemented by precise navigation, accelerometer and electric field measurements, will provide the necessary observations that are required to separate and model the various sources of the geomagnetic field. This results in a unique “view” inside the Earth from space to study the composition and processes of its interior. It also allows analysing the Sun’s influence within the Earth system. In addition practical applications in many different areas, such as space weather, radiation hazards, navigation and resource management, will benefit from the Swarm concept.

Structure of the dayside magnetopause for low magnetic shear

We have analyzed 22 AMPTE/IRM satellite passes through the low-latitude magnetopause region for which the magnetic shear, i.e., the field rotation angle on transit from the magnetosheath to the magnetosphere, was less than 30°. We found that on all passes a key time could be identified where the proton temperature, and usually also in the electron temperature and the temperature anisotropies, show net and often discontinuous changes. A change in plasma flow direction also occurs at this time. The small field rotations that occur have no fixed relationship to the key time. Earthward of the key time, the plasma has the characteristics of the magnetopause boundary layer, i.e., reduced density and bulk velocity, and in particular an electron temperature anisotropy with Te∥ > Te⊥, until further and usually more dramatic changes in plasma thermal properties mark the entry into the magnetosphere proper. Boundary layer durations varied widely, from 4s to 14 min. On the magnetosheath side we observed a layer of plasma density depletion (by a factor of two or more) and concurrent magnetic field pile-up in less than half the crossings. This depletion layer was 3 min wide on average and often characterized by a drop in Tp∥, as predicted. From the observational evidence we conclude that the changes in plasma thermal and flow properties at the key time mark the crossing of the magnetopause under conditions of low magnetic shear. It is tempting to attribute these changes to the crossing of a topological boundary, e.g., a transition from open interplanetary to closed geomagnetic field lines. There is evidence, however, that in some cases the field lines immediately earthward of the key time are not closed. The consistent presence of a boundary layer inside the low-shear magnetopause confirms earlier inferences that solar wind plasma can enter the magnetosphere regardless of field orientation. Inspection of the velocity distribution functions indicates that the plasma is heated upon entry. Taking measured plasma velocities along the magnetopause normal direction, we have inferred an average magnetopause speed of 11 km/s, an indication that the low-shear magnetopause moves more slowly. The duration of the temperature transition translates into a thickness of often less than 50 km, comparable with the typical proton gyroradius. For the plasma depletion layer and the boundary layer we obtained average thicknesses of 0.4 and 0.3 RE, respectively.

Penetration of auroral electric fields to the equator during a substorm

We have studied the negative magnetic bay associated with the substorm that occurred on April 20, 1993, and have found that it is markedly enhanced at the daytime dip equator, coherent with that at afternoon subauroral latitudes. The amplitude of the negative bay decreases monotonously with the latitude, but it is amplified at the dip equator by a factor of 2.5 compared to the low-latitude negative bay. This latitudinal profile implies that in addition to the three-dimensional current system in the magnetosphere, DP ionospheric currents originating in the polar ionosphere contribute greatly to negative bays. Penetration of the convection electric field and the effect of a shielding electric field due to Region 2 (R2) field-aligned currents (FACs) are examined on the basis of European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) and International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) magnetometer observations made in the afternoon sector. The northward electric field at EISCAT (66° corrected geomagnetic latitude (CGMLAT)) is well correlated with the magnetic field X component at Nurmijarvi (56° CGMLAT) during the presubstorm period, but the coherency breaks down during the substorm cycle. By assuming that the R2 FACs intensify the northward electric field at EISCAT but reduce it at Nurmijarvi, we demonstrate that the R2 FACs grow concurrently, although delay by some 17 min, with the convection electric field. Our analytical results indicate that the convection electric field decreases abruptly during the substorm and that the shielding electric field overcomes the convection electric field at around the peak of the negative bay, owing to its delayed reaction. The equatorial negative bay is thus due to an overshielding effect caused by the electric field associated with the R2 FACs.

The dependence of high-latitude PcS wave power on solar wind velocity and on the phase of high-speed solar wind streams

We have calculated the integrated ULF wave power in the Pc5 band at two stations, Kevo (part of the International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) magnetometer array in Scandinavia, at auroral zone latitudes), and Cape Dorset (part of the Magnetometer Array for Cusp and Cleft Studies (MACCS) in Arctic Canada, at cusp latitudes), and compared this power against the solar wind velocity for the last six months of 1993, a period characterized by two persistent high-speed solar wind streams. We find for both local noon at Cape Dorset, and for local morning at Kevo, the Pc5 band power (0.002 – 0.010 Hz) integrated over a six-hour period exhibits a clear power-law dependence on the solar wind velocity. At Cape Dorset we found power α Vsw4, with a correlation coefficient r = 0.73, and at Kevo we found power α Vsw6.5, with r = 0.74. Much of the remaining variation in Pc5 power is due to temporal patterns evident at both stations in response to recurrent high speed streams. Power was strongest at the leading edge of each high speed stream and subsequently decreased more quickly than Vsw. Our observations suggest that it is insufficient to make estimates of Pc5-range ULF wave power on the basis of Vsw alone: one must consider other physical factors, either intrinsic to the solar wind or related to its interaction with Earths magnetosphere. The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is often considered to play a dominant role in this interaction, and the level of instability depends on both velocity and density. By means of a simple simulation using typical density and velocity values during the passage of a high speed stream, we were able to obtain good agreement with the temporal variations we observed. Finally, this study indicates that ground-based pulsation observations can provide reliable proxies of the initial passage of high speed solar wind streams past Earth.

The dependence of high-latitude dayside ionospheric flows on the North-South component of the IMF: A high time resolution correlation analysis using EISCAT “Polar” and AMPTE UKS and IRM data

In 1984 and 1985 a series of experiments was undertaken in which dayside ionospheric flows were measured by the EISCAT “Polar” experiment, while observations of the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) were made by the AMPTE UKS and IRM spacecraft upstream from the Earths bow shock. As a result, 40 h of simultaneous data were acquired, which are analysed in this paper to investigate the relationship between the ionospheric flow and the North-South (Bz) component of the IMF. The ionospheric flow data have 2.5 min resolution, and cover the dayside local time sector from ∼ 09:30 to ∼ 18:30 M.L.T. and the latitude range from 70.8° to 74.3°. Using cross-correlation analysis it is shown that clear relationships do exist between the ionospheric flow and IMF Bz, but that the form of the relations depends strongly on latitude and local time. These dependencies are readily interpreted in terms of a twinvortex flow pattern in which the magnitude and latitudinal extent of the flows become successively larger as Bz becomes successively more negative. Detailed maps of the flow are derived for a range of Bz values (between ± 4 nT) which clearly demonstrate the presence of these effects in the data. The data also suggest that the morning reversal in the East-West component of flow moves to earlier local times as Bz, declines in value and becomes negative. The correlation analysis also provides information on the ionospheric response time to changes in IMF Bz, it being found that the response is very rapid indeed. The most rapid response occurs in the noon to mid-afternoon sector, where the westward flows of the dusk cell respond with a delay of 3.9 ± 2.2 min to changes in the North-South field at the subsolar magnetopause. The flows appear to evolve in form over the subsequent ~ 5 min interval, however, as indicated by the longer response times found for the northward component of flow in this sector (6.7 ±2.2 min), and in data from earlier and later local times. No evidence is found for a latitudinal gradient in response time; changes in flow take place coherently in time across the entire radar field-of-view.

Zonal winds in the equatorial upper thermosphere: Decomposing the solar flux, geomagnetic activity, and seasonal dependencies

Using 3 years (2002–2004), over 16,400 orbits of measurements from the accelerometer on board the CHAMP satellite, we have studied the climatology of the equatorial zonal wind in the upper thermosphere. Several main features are noticed. The most prominent one is that the solar flux significantly influences both the daytime and nighttime winds. It overrides the geomagnetic activity effect, which is found to be rather limited to the nightside. An elevation of the solar flux level from F10.7 ? 100 × 10?22 W m?2 Hz?1 to F10.7 ? 190 × 10?22 W m?2 Hz?1 produces an eastward disturbance wind up to ?110 m s?1. This consequently enhances the nighttime eastward wind but suppresses the daytime westward wind. A seasonal variation with weaker wind (by over 50 m s?1 at night) around June solstice than in other seasons has been observed regardless of solar flux and geomagnetic activity levels. The zonal wind is eastward throughout the night except around June solstice, where it ebbs to almost zero or turns even westward in the postmidnight sector at low solar flux level. The daytime wind is found to be generally more stable than the nighttime wind, particularly unresponsive to geomagnetic activities. Predictions from the Horizontal Wind Model find good agreement with the CHAMP?observed wind at high solar flux levels during nighttime. At low solar flux levels, however, the model strongly underestimates the westward wind during morning hours by 50–120 m s?1 depending on season. The major difference between the HWM?predicted and the CHAMP?observed wind is seen in the phase of its diurnal variation. The CHAMP?observed wind turns eastward around 1200–1300 MLT instead of 1600–1700 MLT predicted by the model. Comparisons with ground FPI observations and the NCAR Thermosphere?Ionosphere?Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIEGCM) predictions show that the solar flux effect obtained from CHAMP is consistent with that modeled by TIEGCM. The solar flux dependence of zonal wind found here together with that of the zonal ion drift found in previous studies reflect the relative importance of the E? and F?region wind dynamo in the thermosphere?ionosphere coupling process. Furthermore, these wind measurements indicate that the Earths atmosphere superrotates. The average superrotation speed amounts to about 22 m s?1 for a solar flux level of F10.7 ? 100 × 10?22 W m?2 Hz?1 but increases to 63 m s?1 for F10.7 ? 190 × 10?22 W m?2 Hz?1. Finally, the wind behavior presented in this study is longitudinally averaged and may differ from wind measurements at a certain longitude.