James A. Slavin

THE WIND MAGNETIC FIELD INVESTIGATION

The magnetic field experiment on WIND will provide data for studies of a broad range of scales of structures and fluctuation characteristics of the interplanetary magnetic field throughout the mission, and, where appropriate, relate them to the statics and dynamics of the magnetosphere. The basic instrument of the Magnetic Field Investigation (MFI) is a boom-mounted dual triaxial fluxgate magnetometer and associated electronics. The dual configuration provides redundancy and also permits accurate removal of the dipolar portion of the spacecraft magnetic field. The instrument provides (1) near real-time data at nominally one vector per 92 s as key parameter data for broad dissemination, (2) rapid data at 10.9 vectors s−1 for standard analysis, and (3) occasionally, snapshot (SS) memory data and Fast Fourier Transform data (FFT), both based on 44 vectors s−1. These measurements will be precise (0.025%), accurate, ultra-sensitive (0.008 nT/step quantization), and where the sensor noise level is <0.006 nT r.m.s. for 0–10 Hz. The digital processing unit utilizes a 12-bit microprocessor controlled analogue-to-digital converter. The instrument features a very wide dynamic range of measurement capability, from ±4 nT up to ±65 536 nT per axis in eight discrete ranges. (The upper range permits complete testing in the Earths field.) In the FTT mode power spectral density elements are transmitted to the ground as fast as once every 23 s (high rate), and 2.7 min of SS memory time series data, triggered automatically by pre-set command, requires typically about 5.1 hours for transmission. Standard data products are expected to be the following vector field averages: 0.0227-s (detail data from SS), 0.092 s (‘detail’ in standard mode), 3 s, 1 min, and 1 hour, in both GSE and GSM coordinates, as well as the FFT spectral elements. As has been our teams tradition, high instrument reliability is obtained by the use of fully redundant systems and extremely conservative designs. We plan studies of the solar wind: (1) as a collisionless plasma laboratory, at all time scales, macro, meso and micro, but concentrating on the kinetic scale, the highest time resolution of the instrument (=0.022 s), (2) as a consequence of solar energy and mass output, (3) as an external source of plasma that can couple mass, momentum, and energy to the Earths magnetosphere, and (4) as it is modified as a consequence of its imbedded field interacting with the moon. Since the GEOTAIL Inboard Magnetometer (GIM), which is similar to the MFI instrument, was developed by members of our team, we provide a brief discussion of GIM related science objectives, along with MFI related science goals.

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 MESSENGER mission to Mercury: Scientific objectives and implementation

Abstract Mercury holds answers to several critical questions regarding the formation and evolution of the terrestrial planets. These questions include the origin of Mercurys anomalously high ratio of metal to silicate and its implications for planetary accretion processes, the nature of Mercurys geological evolution and interior cooling history, the mechanism of global magnetic field generation, the state of Mercurys core, and the processes controlling volatile species in Mercurys polar deposits, exosphere, and magnetosphere. The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission has been designed to fly by and orbit Mercury to address all of these key questions. After launch by a Delta 2925H-9.5, two flybys of Venus, and two flybys of Mercury, orbit insertion is accomplished at the third Mercury encounter. The instrument payload includes a dual imaging system for wide and narrow fields-of-view, monochrome and color imaging, and stereo; X-ray and combined gamma-ray and neutron spectrometers for surface chemical mapping; a magnetometer; a laser altimeter; a combined ultraviolet–visible and visible-near-infrared spectrometer to survey both exospheric species and surface mineralogy; and an energetic particle and plasma spectrometer to sample charged species in the magnetosphere. During the flybys of Mercury, regions unexplored by Mariner 10 will be seen for the first time, and new data will be gathered on Mercurys exosphere, magnetosphere, and surface composition. During the orbital phase of the mission, one Earth year in duration, MESSENGER will complete global mapping and the detailed characterization of the exosphere, magnetosphere, surface, and interior.

Geotail observations of magnetic flux ropes in the plasma sheet

[1] Examination of Geotail measurements in the near-tail (X > � 30 RE) has revealed the presence of small flux ropes in the plasma sheet. A total of 73 flux rope events were identified in the Geotail magnetic field measurements between November 1998 and April 1999. This corresponds to an estimated occurrence frequency of � 1 flux rope per 5 hours of central plasma sheet observing time. All of the flux ropes were embedded within high-speed plasma sheet flows with 35 directed Earthward, hVxi = 431 km/s, and 38 moving tailward, hVxi = � 451 km/s. We refer to these two populations as ‘‘BBF-type’’ and ‘‘plasmoid-type’’ flux ropes. The flux ropes were usually several tens of seconds in duration, and the two types were readily distinguished by the sense of their quasisinusoidal Bz perturbations, i.e., � for the ‘‘BBF’’ events and ± for the ‘‘plasmoid’’ events. Most typically, a flux rope was observed to closely follow the onset of a high-speed flow within � 1–2 min. Application of the Lepping-Burlaga constant-a flux rope model (i.e., J = aB) to these events showed that approximately 60% of each class could be acceptably described as cylindrical, force-free flux ropes. The modeling results yielded mean flux rope diameters and core field intensities of 1.4 RE and 20 nT and 4.4 RE and 14 nT for the BBF and plasmoid-type events, respectively. The inclinations of the flux ropes were small relative to the GSM X–Y plane, but a wide range of azimuthal orientations were determined within that plane. The frequent presence of these flux ropes in the plasma sheet is interpreted as strong evidence for multiple reconnection X-lines (MRX) in the near-tail. Hence, our results suggest that reconnection in the near-tail may closely resemble that at the dayside magnetopause where MRX reconnection has been hypothesized to be responsible for the generation of flux transfer events. INDEX TERMS: 2740 Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; 2764 Magnetospheric Physics: Plasma sheet; 2744 Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetotail; 2788 Magnetospheric Physics: Storms and substorms

Global simulation of the Geospace Environment Modeling substorm challenge event

We use a global model of Earths magnetosphere and ionosphere to simulate the Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) substorm challenge event of November 24, 1996. We compare our results to International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) ground magnetometer data, assimilative mapping of ionospheric electrodynamics (AMIE) polar cap potential and field aligned current patterns, Polar Visible Imaging System (VIS) estimates of the polar cap magnetic flux, GOES 8 geosynchronous magnetometer data, IMP 8 magnetometer data, and Geotail plasma and magnetic field data. We find generally good agreement between the simulation and the data. The modeled evolution of this substorm generally follows the phenomenological near-Earth neutral line model. However, reconnection in the tail is very localized, which makes establishing a causal relation between tail dynamics and auroral dynamics difficult, if not impossible. We also find that the model results critically depend on the parameterization of auroral Hall and Pedersen conductances and anomalous resistivity in the magnetosphere. For many combinations of parameters that enter these parameterizations, no substorm develops in the model, but instead the magnetosphere enters a steady convection mode. The main deviation of the model from the data is excessive convection, which leads to a strong, driven westward electrojet in the growth phase, only partial tail loading, and a reduced recovery phase. Possible remedies are a better model for auroral conductances, an improved anomalous resistivity model, and a more realistic treatment of the ring current.

Three‐dimensional position and shape of the bow shock and their variation with Alfvénic, sonic and magnetosonic Mach numbers and interplanetary magnetic field orientation

A large set of bow shock crossings (i.e., 1392) observed by 17 spacecraft has been used to explore the three-dimensional shape and location of the Earths bow shock and its dependence on solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. This study investigates deviations from gas dynamic flow models associated with the magnetic terms in the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. Empirical models predicting the statistical position and shape of the bow shock for arbitrary values of the solar wind pressure, IMF, and Alfvenic Mach number (MA) have been derived. Individual crossings have been rotated into aberrated GSE coordinates to remove asymmetries associated with the earths orbital motion. Variations due to changes in solar wind dynamic pressure have been taken into consideration by normalizing the observed crossings to the average value 〈p〉 = 3.1 nPa. The resulting data set has been used to fit three-dimensional bow shock surfaces and to explore the variations in these surfaces with sonic (MS), Alfvenic (MA) and magnetosonic (MMS) Mach numbers. Analysis reveals that among the three Mach numbers, MA provides the best ordering of the least square bow shock curves. The subsolar shock is observed to move Earthward while the flanks flare outward in response to decreasing MA; the net change represents a 6-10% effect. Variations due to changes in the IMF orientation were investigated by rotating the crossings into geocentric interplanetary medium coordinates. Past studies have suggested that the north-south extent of the bow shock surface exceeds the east-west dimension due to asymmetries in the fast mode Mach cone. This study confirms such a north-south versus east-west asymmetry and quantifies its variation with MS, MA, MMS, and IMF orientation. A 2-7% effect is measured, with the asymmetry being more pronounced at low Mach numbers. Combining the bow shock models with the magnetopause model of Roelof and Sibeck (1993), variations in the magnetosheath thickness at different local times are explored. The ratio of the bow shock size to the magnetopause size at the subsolar point is found to be 1.46; at dawn and dusk, the ratios are found to be 1.89 and 1.93, respectively. The subsolar magnetosheath thickness is used to derive the polytropic index γ according to the empirical relation of Spreiter et al. (1966). The resulting γ = 2.3 suggests the empirical formula is inadequate to describe the MHD interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere.

The Global Magnetic Field of Mercury from MESSENGER Orbital Observations

Displacement of Mercurys magnetic dipole implies that the surface field has a north-south asymmetry. Magnetometer data acquired by the MESSENGER spacecraft in orbit about Mercury permit the separation of internal and external magnetic field contributions. The global planetary field is represented as a southward-directed, spin-aligned, offset dipole centered on the spin axis. Positions where the cylindrical radial magnetic field component vanishes were used to map the magnetic equator and reveal an offset of 484 ± 11 kilometers northward of the geographic equator. The magnetic axis is tilted by less than 3° from the rotation axis. A magnetopause and tail-current model was defined by using 332 magnetopause crossing locations. Residuals of the net external and offset-dipole fields from observations north of 30°N yield a best-fit planetary moment of 195 ± 10 nanotesla-RM3, where RM is Mercury’s mean radius.

MESSENGER Observations of Magnetic Reconnection in Mercury’s Magnetosphere

MESSENGER from Mercury The spacecraft MESSENGER passed by Mercury in October 2008, in what was the second of three fly-bys before it settles into the planets orbit in 2011. Another spacecraft visited Mercury in the mid-1970s, which mapped 45% of the planets surface. Now, after MESSENGER, only 10% of Mercurys surface remains to be imaged up close. Denevi et al. (p. 613) use this near-global data to look at the mechanisms that shaped Mercurys crust, which likely formed by eruption of magmas of different compositions over a long period of time. Like the Moon, Mercurys surface is dotted with impact craters. Watters et al. (p. 618) describe a well-preserved impact basin, Rembrandt, which is second in size to the largest known basin, Caloris. Unlike Caloris, Rembrandt is not completely filled by material of volcanic origin, preserving clues to its formation and evolution. It displays unique patterns of tectonic deformation, some of which result from Mercurys contraction as its interior cooled over time. Mercurys exosphere and magnetosphere were also observed (see the Perspective by Glassmeier). Magnetic reconnection is a process whereby the interplanetary magnetic field lines join the magnetospheric field lines and transfer energy from the solar wind into the magnetosphere. Slavin et al. (p. 606) report observations of intense magnetic reconnection 10 times as intense as that of Earth. McClintock et al. (p. 610) describe simultaneous, high-resolution measurements of Mg, Ca, and Na in Mercurys exosphere, which may shed light on the processes that create and maintain the exosphere. Mercury’s magnetosphere responds more strongly to the influence of the Sun’s magnetic field than does Earth’s magnetosphere. Solar wind energy transfer to planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres is controlled by magnetic reconnection, a process that determines the degree of connectivity between the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and a planet’s magnetic field. During MESSENGER’s second flyby of Mercury, a steady southward IMF was observed and the magnetopause was threaded by a strong magnetic field, indicating a reconnection rate ~10 times that typical at Earth. Moreover, a large flux transfer event was observed in the magnetosheath, and a plasmoid and multiple traveling compression regions were observed in Mercury’s magnetotail, all products of reconnection. These observations indicate that Mercury’s magnetosphere is much more responsive to IMF direction and dominated by the effects of reconnection than that of Earth or the other magnetized planets.

ISEE 3 observations of traveling compression regions in the Earth's magnetotail

A traveling compression region (TCR) is a several-minute long compression of the lobe magnetic field produced by a plasmoid as it moves down the tail. They are generally followed by a longer interval of southward tilting magnetic fields. This study reports the first comprehensive survey of TCRs in the distant magnetotail. A total of 116 TCRs were identified in the ISEE 3 magnetic field observations. Of this population, 37 TCRs were observed to be separated by 30 min or more from any other TCR and are termed “isolated” events. “Paired” events are defined as two TCRs separated by less than 30 min. There were 36 such TCRs corresponding to 18 paired events. “Multiple” events were also observed in which more than two TCRs occurred in a series without a gap between TCRs of more than 30 min. The 11 multiple events identified in this study had an average of about four traveling compression regions each for a total of 43 TCRs. The mean amplitude, ΔB/B, and duration, ΔT, for all TCRs were found to be 7.6% and 158 s, respectively. TCRs occurring as isolated events were the largest (ΔB/B = 8.8% and ΔT = 218 s) and those associated with multiple events were the smallest (ΔB/B = 5.6% and ΔT = 84 s). The mean duration of the period of southward tilting Bz following isolated TCRs was 12.3 min. This time interval was found to be quite similar to the average spacing between TCRs in paired and multiple events, 11.2 and 10.2 min, respectively. TCR amplitude and duration were found to be independent of location within the tail lobes suggesting that the plasmoids which cause the TCRs maintain approximately constant volume and shape as they move down the tail. Mean plasmoid dimensions estimated from TCR duration and amplitude under the assumption of a quasi-rigid magnetopause are 35 RE (length) × 15 RE (width) × 15 RE (height). Utilizing auroral kilometric radiation, the AL index, Pi 2 pulsations at two ground stations, and energetic particle data from three geosynchronous spacecraft, it is found that over 91% of the TCR events identified in this study followed substorm onsets or intensifications. The number of TCR events identified in this study are consistent with their release in association with a new substorm onset every 4-6 hrs. The results of this study strongly suggest that the release of plasmoids down the tail near the time of expansion phase onset is an integral step in the substorm process and an important element in the substorm energy budget.

MESSENGER Observations of Extreme Loading and Unloading of Mercury's Magnetic Tail

MESSENGERs Third Set of Messages MESSENGER, the spacecraft en route to insertion into orbit about Mercury in March 2011, completed its third flyby of the planet on 29 September 2009. Prockter et al. (p. 668, published online 15 July) present imaging data acquired during this flyby, showing that volcanism on Mercury has extended to much more recent times than previously assumed. The temporal extent of volcanic activity and, in particular, the timing of most recent activity had been missing ingredients in the understanding of Mercurys global thermal evolution. Slavin et al. (p. 665, published online 15 July) report on magnetic field measurements made during the 29 September flyby, when Mercurys magnetosphere underwent extremely strong coupling with the solar wind. The planets tail magnetic field increased and then decreased by factors of 2 to 3.5 during periods lasting 2 to 3 minutes. These observations suggest that magnetic open flux loads the magnetosphere, which is subsequently unloaded by substorms—magnetic disturbances during which energy is rapidly released in the magnetotail. At Earth, changes in tail magnetic field intensity during the loading/unloading cycle are much smaller and occur on much longer time scales. Vervack et al. (p. 672, published online 15 July) used the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer onboard MESSENGER to make measurements of Mercurys neutral and ion exospheres. Differences in the altitude profiles of magnesium, calcium, and sodium over the north and south poles of Mercury indicate that multiple processes are at play to create and maintain the exosphere. Relative to Earth, Mercury’s magnetospheric substorms are more intense and occur on shorter time scales. During MESSENGER’s third flyby of Mercury, the magnetic field in the planet’s magnetic tail increased by factors of 2 to 3.5 over intervals of 2 to 3 minutes. Magnetospheric substorms at Earth are powered by similar tail loading, but the amplitude is lower by a factor of ~10 and typical durations are ~1 hour. The extreme tail loading observed at Mercury implies that the relative intensity of substorms must be much larger than at Earth. The correspondence between the duration of tail field enhancements and the characteristic time for the Dungey cycle, which describes plasma circulation through Mercury’s magnetosphere, suggests that such circulation determines the substorm time scale. A key aspect of tail unloading during terrestrial substorms is the acceleration of energetic charged particles, but no acceleration signatures were seen during the MESSENGER flyby.