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Energy coupling between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere can affect the electron population in the outer radiation belt. However, the precise role of different internal and external mechanisms that leads to changes of the relativistic electron population is not entirely known. This paper describes how ultralow frequency (ULF) wave activity during the passage of Alfvenic solar wind streams contributes to the global recovery of the relativistic electron population in the outer radiation belt. To investigate the contribution of the ULF waves, we searched the Van Allen Probes data for a period in which we can clearly distinguish the enhancement of electron fluxes from the background. We found that the global recovery that started on 22 September 2014, which coincides with the corotating interaction region preceding a high‐speed stream and the occurrence of persistent substorm activity, provides an excellent scenario to explore the contribution of ULF waves. To support our analyses, we employed ground‐ and space‐based observational data and global magnetohydrodynamic simulations and calculated the ULF wave radial diffusion coefficients employing an empirical model. Observations show a gradual increase of electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt and a concomitant enhancement of ULF activity that spreads from higher to lower L‐shells. Magnetohydrodynamic simulation results agree with observed ULF wave activity in the magnetotail, which leads to both fast and Alfven modes in the magnetospheric nightside sector. The observations agree with the empirical model and are confirmed by phase space density calculations for this global recovery period.

The LEXI and SMILE missions will provide soft X‐ray images of the Earth's magnetosheath and cusps after their anticipated launch in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The IBEX mission showed the potential of an Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) instrument to image dayside magnetosheath and cusps, albeit over the long hours required to raster an image with a single pixel imager. Thus, it is timely to discuss the two imaging techniques and relevant science topics. We simulate soft X‐ray and low‐ENA images that might be observed by a virtual spacecraft during two interesting solar wind scenarios: a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field and a sudden enhancement of the solar wind dynamic pressure. We employ the OpenGGCM global magnetohydrodynamics model and a simple exospheric neutral density model for these calculations. Both the magnetosheath and the cusps generate strong soft X‐rays and ENA signals that can be used to extract the locations and motions of the bow shock and magnetopause. Magnetopause erosion corresponds closely to the enhancement of dayside reconnection rate obtained from the OpenGGCM model, indicating that images can be used to understand global‐scale magnetopause reconnection. When dayside imagers are installed with high‐ENA inner‐magnetosphere and FUV/UV aurora imagers, we can trace the solar wind energy flow from the bow shock to the magnetosphere and then to the ionosphere in a self‐standing manner without relying upon other observatories. Soft X‐ray and/or ENA imagers can also unveil the dayside exosphere density structure and its response to space weather., Key Points Soft X‐ray and Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) imaging instruments provide an innovative way to visualize the global solar wind‐magnetosphere interactionHigh‐cadence, wide field‐of‐view soft X‐ray, and ENA images can capture the motion of the bow shock and magnetopauseThe magnetopause motion can reveal the magnetopause reconnection mode on a global scale

We present a new expansion of the Polar Wind Outflow Model (PWOM) to include kinetic ions using the Particle-in-Cell (PIC) approach with Monte Carlo collisions. This implementation uses the original hydrodynamic solution at low altitudes for efficiency, and couples to the kinetic solution at higher altitudes to account for kinetic effects important for ionospheric outflow. The modeling approach also includes wave-particle interactions, suprathermal electrons, and an hybrid parallel computing approach combining shared and distributed memory paralellization. The resulting model is thus a comprehensive, global, model of ionospheric outflow that can be run efficiently on large supercomputing clusters. We demonstrate the model’s capability to study a range of problems starting with the comparison of kinetic and hydrodynamic solutions along a single field line in the sunlit polar cap, and progressing to the altitude evolution of the ion conic distribution in the cusp region. The interplay between convection and the cusp on the global outflow solution is also examined. Finally, we demonstrate the impact of these new model features on the magnetosphere by presenting the first 2-way coupled ionospheric outflow-magnetosphere calculation including kinetic ion effects.

Energetic O+ ions (tens of keV) rapidly increase in the inner magnetosphere and contribute significantly to the ring current during substorms. Previously, two source regions of the energetic O+ ions have been proposed. The first one is the dayside polar region. Ions from the dayside polar region are transported to the lobe; then they are injected to the nightside plasma sheet during substorm expansion phase. The second one is the nightside aurora region. After the substorm onset, energetic O+ ions are extracted from the ionosphere with the auroral acceleration processes, and the O+ ions are directly supplied to the nightside plasma sheet. We investigated the relative importance of these two regions on supplying the energetic O+ ions in the inner magnetosphere. We performed a test particle simulation in global MHD electromagnetic fields. We obtained the following results. (1) During the substorm growth phase, O+ ions at tens of eV are extracted from the dayside polar region, resulting in the enhancement of the warm O+ ions (hundreds of eV) in the lobe. After the substorm onset, the warm O+ ions are nonadiabatically accelerated to tens of keV and injected to the inner magnetosphere. These O+ ions contribute to most of the O+ ring current. (2) O+ ions at less than a few keVs are supplied from the nightside aurora region to the plasma sheet. However, their contribution to the O+ ring current remains small. From the results, we concluded that the main source of the energetic O+ ions is the dayside polar region.

A flux dropout is a sudden and sizable decrease in the energetic electron population of the outer radiation belt on the time scale of a few hours. We simulated a flux dropout of highly relativistic 2.5 MeV electrons using the Radiation Belt Environment model, incorporating the pitch angle diffusion coefficients caused by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves for the geomagnetic storm events of 23-26 October 2002. This simulation showed a remarkable decrease in the 2.5 MeV electron flux during main phase of the storm, compared to those without EMIC waves. This decrease was independent of magnetopause shadowing or drift loss to the magnetopause. We suggest that the flux decrease was likely to be primarily due to pitch angle scattering to the loss cone by EMIC waves. Furthermore, the 2.5 MeV electron flux calculated with EMIC waves correspond very well with that observed from Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle EXplorer spacecraft. EMIC wave scattering is therefore likely one of the key mechanisms to understand flux dropouts. We modeled EMIC wave intensities by the Kp index. However, the calculated dropout is a several hours earlier than the observed one. We propose that Kp is not the best parameter to predict EMIC waves.

International audience; Both heliophysics and planetary physics seek to understand the complex nature of the solar wind’s interaction with solar system obstacles like Earth’s magnetosphere, the ionospheres of Venus and Mars, and comets. Studies with this objective are frequently conducted with the help of single or multipoint in situ electromagnetic field and particle observations, guided by the predictions of both local and global numerical simulations, and placed in context by observations from far and extreme ultraviolet (FUV, EUV), hard X-ray, and energetic neutral atom imagers (ENA). Each proposed interaction mechanism (e.g., steady or transient magnetic reconnection, local or global magnetic reconnection, ion pick-up, or the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability) generates diagnostic plasma density structures. The significance of each mechanism to the overall interaction (as measured in terms of atmospheric/ionospheric loss at comets, Venus, and Mars or global magnetospheric/ionospheric convection at Earth) remains to be determined but can be evaluated on the basis of how often the density signatures that it generates are observed as a function of solar wind conditions. This paper reviews efforts to image the diagnostic plasma density structures in the soft (low energy, 0.1–2.0 keV) X-rays produced when high charge state solar wind ions exchange electrons with the exospheric neutrals surrounding solar system obstacles.The introduction notes that theory, local, and global simulations predict the characteristics of plasma boundaries such the bow shock and magnetopause (including location, density gradient, and motion) and regions such as the magnetosheath (including density and width) as a function of location, solar wind conditions, and the particular mechanism operating. In situ measurements confirm the existence of time- and spatial-dependent plasma density structures like the bow shock, magnetosheath, and magnetopause/ionopause at Venus, Mars, comets, and the Earth. However, in situ measurements rarely suffice to determine the global extent of these density structures or their global variation as a function of solar wind conditions, except in the form of empirical studies based on observations from many different times and solar wind conditions. Remote sensing observations provide global information about auroral ovals (FUV and hard X-ray), the terrestrial plasmasphere (EUV), and the terrestrial ring current (ENA). ENA instruments with low energy thresholds (∼1 keV) have recently been used to obtain important information concerning the magnetosheaths of Venus, Mars, and the Earth. Recent technological developments make these magnetosheaths valuable potential targets for high-cadence wide-field-of-view soft X-ray imagers.Section 2 describes proposed dayside interaction mechanisms, including reconnection, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and other processes in greater detail with an emphasis on the plasma density structures that they generate. It focuses upon the questions that remain as yet unanswered, such as the significance of each proposed interaction mode, which can be determined from its occurrence pattern as a function of location and solar wind conditions. Section 3 outlines the physics underlying the charge exchange generation of soft X-rays. Section 4 lists the background sources (helium focusing cone, planetary, and cosmic) of soft X-rays from which the charge exchange emissions generated by solar wind exchange must be distinguished. With the help of simulations employing state-of-the-art magnetohydrodynamic models for the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction, models for Earth’s exosphere, and knowledge concerning these background emissions, Sect. 5 demonstrates that boundaries and regions such as the bow shock, magnetosheath, magnetopause, and cusps can readily be identified in images of charge exchange emissions. Section 6 reviews observations by (generally narrow) field of view (FOV) astrophysical telescopes that confirm the presence of these emissions at the intensities predicted by the simulations. Section 7 describes the design of a notional wide FOV “lobster-eye” telescope capable of imaging the global interactions and shows how it might be used to extract information concerning the global interaction of the solar wind with solar system obstacles. The conclusion outlines prospects for missions employing such wide FOV imagers.

From 2 to 5 UT on 14 November 2012, the Van Allen Probes observed repeated particle flux dropouts during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm as the satellites traversed the post-midnight to dawnside inner magnetosphere. Each flux dropout corresponded to an abrupt change in the magnetic topology, i.e., from a more dipolar configuration to a configuration with magnetic field lines stretched in the dawn-dusk direction. Geosynchronous GOES spacecraft located in the dusk and near-midnight sectors and the LANL constellation with wide local time coverage also observed repeated flux dropouts and stretched field lines with similar occurrence patterns to those of the Van Allen Probe events. THEMIS recorded multiple transient abrupt expansions of the evening-side magnetopause ∼20–30 min prior to the sequential Van Allen Probes observations. Ground-based magnetograms and all sky images demonstrate repeatable features in conjunction with the dropouts. We combine the various in situ and ground-based measurements to define and understand the global spatiotemporal features associated with the dropouts observed by the Van Allen Probes. We discuss various proposed hypotheses for the mechanism that plausibly caused this storm-time dropout event as well as formulate a new hypothesis that explains the combined in situ and ground-based observations: the earthward motion of magnetic flux ropes containing lobe plasmas that form along an extended magnetotail reconnection line in the near-Earth plasma sheet.

To study the magnetopause on both MHD and kinetic scales, we have analyzed two Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms/Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun magnetopause crossings under steady slow-solar wind and minimum magnetic shear conditions. These events approximate a ground state of the magnetospheric boundary with minimum influences from large-solar wind disturbances and magnetic reconnection. Our observations reveal evidence for the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, the quasi-periodicity of magnetopause surface waves accompanied by highly asymmetrical plasma signatures between the inbound (from magnetosheath to low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL)) and the outbound (from LLBL to magnetosheath) magnetopause crossings. Stronger plasma and magnetic gradients were observed during the outbound crossings but more gradual and volatile variations at higher frequencies during the inbounds. The scale lengths of the magnetic and plasma gradients were comparable or less than the proton gyroradius. Enhancements of lower hybrid waves occurred at the locations of strong gradients or variations. We interpreted the collocations of the lower hybrid waves and plasma gradients and their variations in terms of (1) lower hybrid instabilities that directly convert solar wind flow energy into lower hybrid waves and other wave modes in the LLBL, or (2) Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and magnetic reconnection which produce the conditions for the lower hybrid instabilities to grow. The rate of ion diffusion across the magnetopause caused by the lower hybrid instability is marginally sufficient to populate the LLBL. The diffusion coefficient of O+ is ~30 times larger than that of H+. The lower hybrid waves could contribute to the energy dissipation at plasma gradients in magnetopause surface wave structures and limit Kelvin-Helmholtz instability growth further downstream.

Global, ion equatorial flux distributions and energy spectra are presented from stereoscopic Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers (TWINS) 1 and TWINS 2 energetic neutral atom (ENA) images for two time periods, 29 May 2010, 1330–1430 UT and 26 May 2011, 1645–1715 UT. The first is just after the main phase of a weak (minimum SYM/H ≈ −70 to −80 nT) corotating interaction region-driven geomagnetic storm. The second is during a relatively quiet period. The global ion distributions show multiple spatial peaks that are coincident with peaks in the AE index. The energy spectra have a primary maximum in the 15–20 keV range. Below the energy maximum, the flux is Maxwellian. Above the main maximum, the flux is either significantly below that of a Maxwellian or has a second component with a maximum in the 40–50 keV range. For the 29 May 2010, 1330–1430 UT time period, the flux from the TWINS stereoscopic images is compared to the results from TWINS 1 and TWINS 2 alone illustrating the advantage of stereoscopic viewing. The flux deconvolved from the TWINS images also shows spatial and temporal correlations with Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) in situ measurements. Magnetic field dipolarizations observed by GOES support the existence of a peak in the ion flux in the midnight/dawn sector. In summary, increased spatial resolution from TWINS stereoscopic ENA images is demonstrated. Multiple peaks in the ion flux of trapped particles in the ring current are observed. THEMIS electrostatic analyzer in situ ion flux measurements and GOES geosynchronous magnetic field measurements are consistent with the spatial and temporal structure obtained.

Relativistic electrons in the outer radiation belt are highly dynamic and respond to interplanetary solar wind structures interacting with the Earth's magnetic field. A known mechanism dictating electron dynamics is the drift-resonant interaction with ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves. The present work simulates the ring current and radiation belt electron populations in the bounce-averaged, kinetic Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere (CIMI) model coupled with the Block Adaptive Tree Solar Wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US) global magnetospheric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code using an idealized ULF wave solar wind density driver. ULF waves generated with 10 minute periods (at 1.67 mHz frequencies) in the MHD model are characterized and the corresponding energization of electrons and radial transport of electron phase space density is presented. The drift-resonant electron energy is determined in the simulation and is consistent with the electron resonance conditions in dipolar magnetic fields. The present results will be an important component of understanding inner magnetospheric dynamics and how these inner magnetospheric populations interact with ULF waves resulting from interplanetary solar wind structures.

Following a long period of observation and investigation beginning in the early 1970s, it has been firmly established that Earth׳s magnetosphere is defined as much by the geogenic plasma within it as by the geomagnetic field. This plasma is not confined to the ionosphere proper, defined as the region within a few density scale heights of the F-region plasma density peak. Rather, it fills the flux tubes on which it is created, and circulates throughout the magnetosphere in a pattern driven by solar wind plasma that becomes magnetically connected to the ionosphere by reconnection through the dayside magnetopause. Under certain solar wind conditions, plasma and field energy is stored in the magnetotail rather than being smoothly recirculated back to the dayside. Its release into the downstream solar wind is produced by magnetotail disconnection of stored plasma and fields both continuously and in the form of discrete plasmoids, with associated generation of energetic Earthward-moving bursty bulk flows and injection fronts. A new generation of global circulation models is showing us that outflowing ionospheric plasmas, especially O + , load the system in a different way than the resistive F-region load of currents dissipating energy in the plasma and atmospheric neutral gas. The extended ionospheric load is reactive to the primary dissipation, forming a time-delayed feedback loop within the system. That sets up or intensifies bursty transient behaviors that would be weaker or absent if the ionosphere did not “strike back” when stimulated. Understanding this response appears to be a necessary, if not sufficient, condition for us to gain accurate predictive capability for space weather. However, full predictive understanding of outflow and incorporation into global simulations requires a clear observational and theoretical identification of the causal mechanisms of the outflows. This remains elusive and requires a dedicated mission effort.

On 21 January 2005, a moderate magnetic storm produced a number of anomalous features, some seen more typically during superstorms. The aim of this study is to establish the differences in the space environment from what we expect (and normally observe) for a storm of this intensity, which make it behave in some ways like a superstorm. The storm was driven by one of the fastest interplanetary coronal mass ejections in solar cycle 23, containing a piece of the dense erupting solar filament material. The momentum of the massive solar filament caused it to push its way through the flux rope as the interplanetary coronal mass ejection decelerated moving toward 1 AU creating the appearance of an eroded flux rope (see companion paper by Manchester et al. (2014)) and, in this case, limiting the intensity of the resulting geomagnetic storm. On impact, the solar filament further disrupted the partial ring current shielding in existence at the time, creating a brief superfountain in the equatorial ionosphere—an unusual occurrence for a moderate storm. Within 1 h after impact, a cold dense plasma sheet (CDPS) formed out of the filament material. As the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) rotated from obliquely to more purely northward, the magnetotail transformed from an open to a closed configuration and the CDPS evolved from warmer to cooler temperatures. Plasma sheet densities reached tens per cubic centimeter along the flanks—high enough to inflate the magnetotail in the simulation under northward IMF conditions despite the cool temperatures. Observational evidence for this stretching was provided by a corresponding expansion and intensification of both the auroral oval and ring current precipitation zones linked to magnetotail stretching by field line curvature scattering. Strong Joule heating in the cusps, a by-product of the CDPS formation process, contributed to an equatorward neutral wind surge that reached low latitudes within 1–2 h and intensified the equatorial ionization anomaly. Understanding the geospace consequences of extremes in density and pressure is important because some of the largest and most damaging space weather events ever observed contained similar intervals of dense solar material.

We have integrated dynamic, spatiotemporally resolved ion temperature boundary conditions into the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM), which are based on 2-D equatorial maps derived from the Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers (TWINS) energetic neutral atom (ENA) data. The high-speed stream-driven event on 22 July 2009 is simulated and compared against an identical simulation using a statistically derived boundary condition model. ENA-derived temperatures allow users to include event-specific observations associated with a dynamic plasma sheet. This method also provides temperatures in the important region between geosynchronous orbit and the plasma sheet, a region which existing empirical models exclude. We find that the spatial and energy distributions of ring current flux and pressure have sensitive dependence on boundary conditions during this event. The coupling of boundary conditions to the time history of the convection field strength also plays an important role by throttling the influence of the boundary plasma on the inner magnetosphere. Simulated moments and spectra from our simulations are compared with remotely imaged ion temperatures from TWINS and also in situ energy spectra and temperature moments from Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms-D. Storm time dusk-dawn asymmetries consistent with observational data, such as Zhang et al. (2006), are reproduced well when CRCM is provided with the event-specific boundary model. A hot localized structure observed by TWINS at geosynchronous midnight during a strong northward interplanetary magnetic field interval is also reproduced with this boundary model, whereas the empirical boundary model fails to yield this feature.

We have developed a technique for estimating the temporal evolution of the plasmaspheric helium ion density based on a sequence of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) data obtained from the IMAGE satellite. In the proposed technique, the estimation is obtained by incorporating EUV images from IMAGE into a two-dimensional fluid model of the plasmasphere using a data assimilation approach based on the ensemble transform Kalman filter. Since the motion and the spatial structure of the helium plasmasphere is strongly controlled by the electric field in the inner magnetosphere, the electric field around the plasmapause can also be estimated using the ensemble transform Kalman filter. We performed an experiment using synthetic images that were generated from the same numerical model under a certain condition. It was confirmed that the condition that generated the synthetic images was successfully reproduced. We also present some results obtained using real EUV imaging data. Finally, we discuss the possibility of estimating the density profile along a magnetic field line. Since each EUV image was taken from a different direction due to the motion of the IMAGE satellite, we could obtain the information on the density profile along a field line by combining multiple images.

During large geomagnetic storms (Dst ≤−100 nT), oxygen can become a significant component of the energetic particles of the inner magnetosphere. Until recently, there were no available global observations of the medium energy ( 52 keV) O ENAs.

[1] We have recently extended the global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model BATS-R-US to account for pressure anisotropy. Since the inner magnetosphere dynamics cannot be fully described even by anisotropic MHD, we coupled our anisotropic MHD model with two inner magnetospheric models: the Rice Convection Model (RCM) and the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM). The coupled models provide better representations of the near-Earth plasma, especially during geomagnetic storms. In this paper, we present the two-way coupling algorithms with both ring current models. The major difference between these two couplings is that the RCM assumes isotropic and constant pressures along closed field lines, while the CRCM resolves pitch angle anisotropy. For model validation, we report global magnetosphere simulations performed by the coupled models. The simulation results are compared to the results given by the coupled isotropic MHD and ring current models. We find that in the global MHD simulations coupled with ring current models, pressure anisotropy results in a thinner magnetosheath, a shorter tail, a much smaller Earthward plasma jet from the tail reconnection site, and is also important in controlling the magnetic field configuration. The comparisons with satellite data for the magnetospheric event simulations show improvements on reproducing the measured tail magnetic field and inner magnetospheric flow velocity when including pressure anisotropy in the ring current model coupled global MHD model.

[1] We present the coupling methodology and validation of a fully coupled inner and global magnetosphere code using the infrastructure provided by the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF). In this model, the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) represents the inner magnetosphere, while the Block‒Adaptive‒Tree Solar‒Wind Roe‒Type Upwind Scheme (BATS‒R‒US) represents the global magnetosphere. The combined model is a global magnetospheric code with a realistic ring current and consistent electric and magnetic fields. The computational performance of the model was improved to surpass real‒time execution by the use of the Message Passing Interface (MPI) to parallelize the CRCM. Initial simulations under steady driving found that the coupled model resulted in a higher pressure in the inner magnetosphere and an inflated closed field‒line region as compared to simulations without inner‒magnetosphere coupling. Our validation effort was split into two studies. The first study examined the ability of the model to reproduce Dst for a range of events from the Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Dst Challenge. It also investigated the possibility of a baseline shift and compared two approaches to calculating Dst from the model. We found that the model did a reasonable job predicting Dst and Sym‒H according to our two metrics of prediction efficiency and predicted yield. The second study focused on the specific case of the 22 July 2009 moderate geomagnetic storm. In this study, we directly compare model predictions and observations for Dst, THEMIS energy spectragrams, TWINS ENA images, and GOES 11 and 12 magnetometer data. The model did an adequate job reproducing trends in the data. Moreover, we found that composition can have a large effect on the result.

[1] The storm-time magnetic disturbance at the Earth's equator, as commonly measured by the Dst index, is induced by currents in the near-Earth magnetosphere. The ring current is generally considered the most important contributor, but other magnetospheric currents have also been found to have significant effects. Of the two main types of solar geomagnetic storm drivers, Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) tend to have a much greater impact on Dst than Corotating Interaction Regions (CIRs). Ring current models have been found to underestimate Dst, particularly during storms driven by CIRs. One possible explanation is that the models neglect to handle some aspect of ring current physics that is particularly important for CIRs. This study uses the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) to estimate the ring current contribution to Dst for a selection of storms of various strengths and different drivers (CMEs and CIRs) that have solar wind parameters that fit a typical profile. The model boundary is set to 10 RE at the equator, encompassing the entire ring current region. The magnetic field is held fixed, based on average storm parameters, which limits our model results to the effects of convection and plasma sheet density at the model boundary. Our model results generally show good agreement with the size and timing of fluctuations in Dst, which indicates that convection and boundary conditions play an important role in shaping Dst. We also find excellent agreement with the magnitude of Dst for CME-driven storms. For CIR-driven storms, however, the magnitude at the peak of the storm frequently deviates from actual Dst. In general, we agree with the results of previous research that CIR-driven storms are more underpredicted. However, this study includes some weaker CIR-driven storms for which Dst is actually overpredicted. Overall, when examining the dependence of modeled Dst* on actual Dst* at storm peak, we find that there is a statistically significant difference between CME- and CIR-driven storms. We also find that approximately half of the total ring current energy lies beyond an L-value of 6.6. However, this figure could be overestimated due to the use of a static magnetic field, which limits radial transport.

The fluxes of energetic particles in the radiation belts are found to be strongly controlled by the solar wind conditions. In order to understand and predict the radiation particle intensities, we have developed a physics-based Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model that considers the influences from the solar wind, ring current and plasmasphere. Recently, an improved calculation of wave-particle interactions has been incorporated. In particular, the model now includes cross diffusion in energy and pitch-angle. We find that the exclusion of cross diffusion could cause significant overestimation of electron flux enhancement during storm recovery. The RBE model is also connected to MHD fields so that the response of the radiation belts to fast variations in the global magnetosphere can be studied. We are able to reproduce the rapid flux increase during a substorm dipolarization on 4 September 2008. The timing is much shorter than the time scale of wave associated acceleration. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Because of the small planetary magnetic field as well as proximity to the Sun that leads to enhanced solar wind pressure as compared to Earth, the magnetosphere of Mercury is very dynamical and at times subjected to prominent compression. We investigate the dynamics of magnetospheric ions during such compression events. Using three-dimensional single-particle simulations, we show that the electric field induced by the time varying magnetic field can lead to significant ion energization, up to several hundreds of eVs or a few keVs. This energization occurs in a nonadiabatic manner, being characterized by large enhancements of the ion magnetic moment and bunching in gyration phase. It is obtained when the ion cyclotron period is comparable to the field variation time scale. This condition for nonadiabatic heating is realized in distinct regions of space for ions with different mass-to-charge ratios. During compression of Mercury's magnetosphere, heavy ions originating from the planetary exosphere may be subjected to such an abrupt energization, leading to loading of the magnetospheric lobes with energetic material.

We have integrated the Fok radiation belt environment (RBE) model into the space weather modeling framework (SWMF). RBE is coupled to the global magnetohydrodynamics component (represented by the Block-Adaptive-Tree Solar-wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme, BATS-R-US, code) and the Ionosphere Electrodynamics component of the SWMF, following initial results using the Weimer empirical model for the ionospheric potential. The radiation belt (RB) model solves the convection-diffusion equation of the plasma in the energy range of 10 keV to a few MeV. In stand-alone mode RBE uses Tsyganenko's empirical models for the magnetic field, and Weimer's empirical model for the ionospheric potential. In the SWMF the BATS-R-US model provides the time dependent magnetic field by efficiently tracing the closed magnetic field-lines and passing the geometrical and field strength information to RBE at a regular cadence. The ionosphere electrodynamics component uses a two-dimensional vertical potential solver to provide new potential maps to the RBE model at regular intervals. We discuss the coupling algorithm and show some preliminary results with the coupled code. We run our newly coupled model for periods of steady solar wind conditions and compare our results to the RB model using an empirical magnetic field and potential model. We also simulate the RB for an active time period and find that there are substantial differences in the RB model results when changing either the magnetic field or the electric field, including the creation of an outer belt enhancement via rapid inward transport on the time scale of tens of minutes.

We investigate the dynamics of magnetospheric ions during transient reconfigurations of Mercury's magnetotail. At Earth, numerous observations during similar events reveal a prominent energization (up to the hundreds of keV range) of heavy ions ( O + ) originating from the topside ionosphere. This energization likely results from a resonant nonadiabatic interaction with the electric field that is induced by dipolarization of the magnetic field lines, the time scale of this reconfiguration being comparable to the heavy ion cyclotron period. The question then arises whether such an energization may occur at Mercury. Using single-particle simulations in time-varying electric and magnetic fields, we show that prominent nonadiabatic heating is obtained for ions with small mass-to-charge ratios (e.g., H + , He + ). As for heavy ions (e.g., Na + , Ca + ) that have cyclotron periods well above the time scale of the magnetotail reconfiguration (several seconds), a weaker energization is obtained. The resonant heating mechanism that we examine here may be of importance for solar wind protons that gain access to the inner hermean magnetotail as well as for light ions of planetary origin that directly feed the near-Mercury plasma sheet.

We investigate the dynamics of charged particles in the dayside magnetosphere in response to abrupt variations of the solar wind dynamical pressure. Using test particle simulations, we show that the electric field induced by the compression of the frontside magnetosphere may be responsible for prominent energization of plasma sheet ions as well as trapping at high latitudes. We demonstrate that, due to the short-lived character of the magnetic field line reconfiguration (on the time scale of a few minutes), the particle magnetic moment (first adiabatic invariant) may not be conserved during such events. Ions that are initially bouncing from one hemisphere to the other are found to experience nonadiabatic energization up to the hundred of keV range while being injected into the outer cusp. Such injections involve particles from limited portions of the dayside flux tubes. The energetic particles that are produced in the outer cusp during such events subsequently circulate about the field minimum at high latitudes without intercepting the equatorial plane, thus contributing to the high-energy populations that are observed in this region of space.

We report observations of neutral atoms from the solar wind in the Earth's vicinity with the low-energy neutral atom (LENA) imager on the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft. This instrument was designed to be capable of looking at and in the direction of the Sun. Enhancements in the hydrogen count rate in the solar direction are not correlated with either solar ultraviolet emission or suprathermal ions and are deduced to be due to neutral particles from the solar wind. LENA observes these particles from the direction closest to that of the Sun even when the Sun is not directly in LENA's 90° field of view. Simulations show that these neutrals are the result of solar wind ions charge exchanging with exospheric neutral hydrogen atoms in the postshock flow of the solar wind in the magnetosheath. Their energy is inferred to exceed 300 eV, consistent with solar wind energies, based on simulation results and on the observation of oxygen ions, sputtered from the conversion surface in the time-of-flight spectra. In addition, the sputtered oxygen abundance tracks the solar wind speed, even when IMAGE is deep inside the magnetosphere. These results show that low-energy neutral atom imaging provides the capability to directly monitor the solar wind flow in the magnetosheath from inside the magnetosphere because there is a continuous and significant flux of neutral atoms originating from the solar wind that permeates the magnetosphere.

The discovery of terrestrial O+ and other heavy ions in magnetospheric hot plasmas, combined with the association of energetic ionospheric outflows with geomagnetic activity, led to the conclusion that increasing geomagnetic activity is responsible for filling the magnetosphere with ionospheric plasma. Recently it has been discovered that a major source of ionospheric heavy ion plasma outflow is responsive to the earliest impact of coronal mass ejecta upon the dayside ionosphere. Thus a large increase in ionospheric outflows begins promptly during the initial phase of geomagnetic storms, and is already present during the main phase development of such storms. We hypothesize that enhancement of the internal source of plasma actually supports the transition from substorm enhancements of aurora to storm-time ring current development in the inner magnetosphere. Other planets known to have ring current-like plasmas also have substantial internal sources of plasma, notably Jupiter and Saturn. One planet having a small magnetosphere, but very little internal source of plasma, is Mercury. Observations suggest that Mercury has substorms, but are ambiguous with regard to the possibility of magnetic storms of the planet. The Messenger mission to Mercury should provide an interesting test of our hypothesis. Mercury should support at most a modest ring current if its internal plasma source is as small as is currently believed. If substantiated, this hypothesis would support a general conclusion that the magnetospheric inflationary response is a characteristic of magnetospheres with substantial internal plasma sources. We quantitatively define this hypothesis and pose it as a problem in comparative magnetospheres.

On May 13, 1996, as the Polar spacecraft was traveling at high invariant latitudes (∼78°–79°) in the prenoon sector (∼1050 magnetic local time), the Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment on board recorded successive injections of protons with clear energy-time dispersion. These dispersion structures spread over several minutes and extend from several hundreds of eV down to a few tens of eV. During this pass, simultaneous measurements from the Wind spacecraft revealed little variation of the solar wind dynamical pressure but a gradual turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) from an essentially dawn-to-dusk orientation (i.e., predominant positive BY component and slightly negative BZ) to a north-to-south one (predominant negative BZ). We show that the observed injections result from magnetosheath particle entry at higher and higher latitudes in the dawn sector. Using test particle calculations in a simple model of reconnected interplanetary and magnetospheric field, we show that the injection modulation likely follows from changes in the dynamical regime experienced by the ions upon traversal of the magnetopause current sheet. That is, as the IMF gradually rotates, the time-varying BY and BZ lead to changes in the adiabaticity parameter κ in the region of entry and affect particle access to the Polar location. In the morning sector where magnetosheath plasma accelerates downtail, such an access to the inner magnetosphere requires magnetic moment damping and is thus favored during nonadiabatic episodes. The flux variations obtained numerically are in qualitative agreement with those observed, both in terms of characteristic energy and overall time evolution. This supports our interpretation of the modulated ion injections in terms of intermittent nonadiabatic entry from the magnetosheath followed by time of flight dispersion between the magnetopause and the spacecraft.

This paper is primarily concerned with the causes of the large density and temperature enhancements that are often observed during magnetically quiet periods on winter nights at mid-latitudes in the North American sector. Measurements from a network of Digisondes and an incoherent scatter radar are compared with the field line interhemispheric plasma (FLIP) model for January 6–12, 1997, in order to examine the temporal evolution and geographical extent of the enhancements in eastern North America. Postsunset measurements at Millstone Hill show high electron temperatures accompanied by rapid density decay until midnight followed by a rapid temperature decay accompanied by a pronounced density enhancement in the early morning hours. The FLIP model reproduces the nighttime density enhancement well, provided the model is constrained to follow the topside electron temperature and also that the overlying plasmaspheric flux tube is full. The dramatic reduction in plasmaspheric heat flux near midnight results in a sharp decrease in ionospheric temperature, inducing a large downward flow of plasmaspheric ions which creates the nighttime enhancement in ionospheric density. We find that the nighttime plasmaspheric heat flux variation drives the nighttime ionospheric density variation, which is opposite to conclusions in previously published work. Although the plasmaspheric heat flux variation can explain the ionospheric density variation, the reasons for this heat flux variation are not understood. Convection of plasma from higher magnetic latitudes is now included in the FLIP model but is not needed to produce the observed nighttime density maximum. We have found that the fraction of light ions in the topside ionosphere at 500 km altitude in the model is very close to that obtained from chemical equilibrium and agrees well with the measured fraction. The model generally reproduces the daytime electron density very well at all stations except Bermuda, where the difference is as much as 50%.

A test particle study of the ionospheric source of plasma in the Earth’s plasma sheet has been performed, in an effort to understand an apparent inconsistency between the results of forward and backward (in time) test particle calculations. Most, if not all, forward calculations of polar wind ion outflows result in energetic plasma sheet ion populations; yet most, if not all, backward trajectory calculations from typical plasma sheet ion populations lead elsewhere than to low energy polar cap outflows. Using a trajectory discovered through forward calculation to connect these two regions, we found that the trajectory was only accurately reversible within an extremely narrow range of energy, pitch angle and gyrophase angle in the plasma sheet, referred to herein as ‘the source groove’. This implies that ionospheric plasma tends to appear in the plasma sheet within narrow regions of velocity space, but is effectively diffused by fluctuations to form the observed more isotropic plasma sheet populations. The implications for backtracking test particle studies are discussed, and it is concluded that test particle backtracking from highly chaotic regions is impractical and should be supported by forward modeling of plasma flows up to the boundaries of such regions.

The possible role of precipitation losses in eroding stormtime ring current is subject to debate. To explore this controversy, the recovery phase of the February 6–10, 1986, great magnetic storm is examined, when intense ion precipitation was observed at midlatitudes by NOAA-6 and DMSP satellites. This storm period is particularly interesting because the ring current exhibits distinctive two-phase decay as seen in the Dst index, the early rapid timescale decay corresponding to the intense ion precipitation period described above. Hamilton et al. [1988] concluded, from close agreement between the observed timescale for ring current decay and the theoretical timescale for O+ charge exchange loss, that rapid early recovery phase of this storm resulted from the charge exchange loss of high energy O+; the second and longer decay phase was equated with H+ charge exchange loss. A model of the ring current evolution during this great magnetic storm [Fok et al., 1995] failed to reproduce the observed ring current decay rates, a puzzling result because charge exchange losses were well represented in the ring current model and initial and boundary conditions were taken from the same data set used in the Hamilton et al. [1988] study. A simple energy balance calculation for the global ring current is carried out using (1) either an energy input predicted from upstream solar wind parameters or one calculated from the drift-loss model output, (2) collisional loss timescales extracted from the drift-loss model, and (3) precipitation losses estimated from NOAA-6 and DMSP observations. The energy balance model replicates the evolution of the ring current energy content derived from Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers/Charge Composition Explorer (AMPTE/CCE) observations when ion precipitation losses are included and model energy input function is reduced to agree with predictions based upon upstream solar wind parameters. The O+ charge exchange losses and observed global precipitation losses were of equal magnitude in early recovery of the ring current during this great magnetic storm. Later longer decay timescales in the model resulted from a combination of O+ and H+ charge exchange losses; O+ charge exchange losses remained important throughout the model time interval. The present model produces agreement with the AMPTE/CCE estimates of ring current kinetic energy content versus time. Disagreement between the Dst* inferred from the AMPTE/CCE particle measurements and the observed Dst* is an interesting issue needing further explanation.

[1] Recent observations by the radiation monitor (RDM) on the spacecraft Akebono have shown several cases of >2.5 MeV radiation belt electron enhancements occurring on timescales of less than a few hours. Similar enhancements are also seen in detectors on board the NOAA/POES and TWINS 1 satellites. These intervals are shorter than typical radial diffusion or wave-particle interactions can account for. We choose two so-called “rapid rebuilding” events that occur during high speed streams (4 September 2008 and 22 July 2009) and simulated them with the Space Weather Modeling Framework configured with global magnetosphere, radiation belt, ring current, and ionosphere electrodynamics model. Our simulations produce a weaker and delayed dipolarization as compared to observations, but the associated inductive electric field in the simulations is still strong enough to rapidly transport and accelerate MeV electrons resulting in an energetic electron flux enhancement that is somewhat weaker than is observed. Nevertheless, the calculated flux enhancement and dipolarization is found to be qualitatively consistent with the observations. Taken together, the modeling results and observations support the conclusion that storm-time dipolarization events in the magnetospheric magnetic field result in strong radial transport and energization of radiation belt electrons.

[1] The storm time ring current sometimes exhibits rapid decay, as suggested from the Dst index, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. By means of a simulation with pitch angle scattering due to the field line curvature (FLC), together with the charge exchange and adiabatic loss cone loss, we investigated rapid decay of the storm time ring current for the large magnetic storm that occurred on 12 August 2000. When all three loss processes were included, the Dst (SYM-H) index showed rapid recovery with an e-folding time of ∼6 h. However, without FLC scattering, the simulated Dst (SYM-H) index showed a slower recovery with an e-folding time of ∼12 h. Overall flux of energetic neutral hydrogen with energy ≥ 39 keV was significantly reduced by the FLC scattering and is consistent with data from the high energy neutral analyzer (HENA) on board the IMAGE satellite. Power of precipitating protons showed a fairly good agreement with data from the far ultraviolet (FUV) imager on board IMAGE. These fairly good agreements with observations lead to the possible conclusion that the FLC scattering is a significant loss mechanism for the ring current ions, and the main oval of the proton aurora is likely a manifestation of the precipitating loss of the protons for this particular storm.

Ion temperature analysis of the first energetic neutral atom images of the quiet -time, extended magnetosphere provides evidence of multiple regions of ion heating. This study confirms the existence of a dawn -dusk asymmetry in ion temperature predicted for quiescent magnetospheric conditions by Spence and Kivelson (1993) and demonstrates that it is an inherent magnetospheric feature.

We investigate the effect of a rotation of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) on the transport of magnetospheric ion populations at Mercury. We focus on ions of planetary origin and investigate their large-scale circulation using three-dimensional single-particle simulations. We show that a nonzero BX component of the IMF leads to a pronounced asymmetry in the overall circulation pattern. In particular, we demonstrate that the centrifugal acceleration due to curvature of the E × B drift paths is more pronounced in one hemisphere than the other, leading to filling of the magnetospheric lobes and plasma sheet with more or less energetic material depending upon the hemisphere of origin. Using a time-varying electric and magnetic field model, we investigate the response of ions to rapid (a few tens of seconds) re-orientation of the IMF. We show that, for ions with gyroperiods comparable to the field variation time scale, the inductive electric field should lead to significant nonadiabatic energization, up to several hundreds of eVs or a few keVs. It thus appears that IMF turning at Mercury should lead to localized loading of the magnetosphere with energetic material of planetary origin (e.g., Na+).

The decay of the major ion species which constitute the ring current is studied by solving the time evolution of their distribution functions during the recovery phase of a moderate geomagnetic storm. In this work, only equatorially mirroring particles are considered. Particles are assumed to move subject to E x B and gradient drifts. They also experience loses along their drift paths. Two loss mechanisms are considered: charge exchange with neutral hydrogen atoms and Coulomb collisions with thermal plasma in the plasmasphere. Thermal plasma densities are calculated with a plasmaspheric model employing a time-dependent convection electric field model. The drift-loss model successfully reproduces a number of important and observable features in the distribution function. Charge exchange is found to be the major loss mechanism for the ring current ions; however the important effects of Coulomb collisions on both the ring current and thermal populations are also presented. The model predicts the formation of a low-energy (less than 500 eV) ion population as a result of energy degradation caused by Coulomb collision of the ring current ions with the plasmaspheric electrons; this population may be one source of the low-energy ions observed during active and quiet periods in the inner magnetosphere. The energy transferred to plasmaspheric electrons through Coulomb collisions with ring current ions is believed to be the energy source for the electron temperature enhancement and the associated 6300 A (stable auroral red (SAR) arc) emission in the subauroral region. The calculated energy deposition rate is sufficient to produce a subauroral electron temperature enhancement and SAR arc emissions that are consistent with observations of these quantities during moderate magnetic activity levels.

We present a comparative study of ring current dynamics during strong and moderate storms. The ring current during the strong storm is studied with IMAGE/HENA data near the solar cycle maximum in 2000. The ring current during the moderate storm is studied using energetic neutral atom (ENA) data from the Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral- Atom Spectrometers (TWINS) mission during the solar minimum in 2008. For both storms, the local time distributions of ENA emissions show signatures of postmidnight enhancement (PME) during the main phases. To model the ring current and ENA emissions, we use the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM). CRCM results show that the main-phase ring current pressure peaks in the premidnight-dusk sector, while the most intense CRCM-simulated ENA emissions show PME signatures. We analyze two factors to explain this difference: the dependence of charge-exchange cross section on energy and pitch angle distributions of ring current. We find that the IMF By effect (twisting of the convection pattern due to By) is not needed to form the PME. Additionally, the PME is more pronounced for the strong storm, although relative shielding and hence electric field skewing is well developed for both events.

We revisit a reported "Ionospheric Mass Ejection" using prior event observations to guide a global simulation of local ionospheric outflows, global magnetospheric circulation, and plasma sheet pressurization, and comparing our results with the observed global response. Our simulation framework is based on test particle motions in the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) global circulation model electromagnetic fields. The inner magnetosphere is simulated with the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) of Fok and Wolf, driven by the transpolar potential developed by the LFM magnetosphere, and includes an embedded plasmaspheric simulation. Global circulation is stimulated using the observed solar wind conditions for the period 24-25 Sept 1998. This period begins with the arrival of a Coronal Mass Ejection, initially with northward, but later with southward interplanetary magnetic field. Test particles are launched from the ionosphere with fluxes specified by local empirical relationships of outflow to electrodynamic and particle precipitation imposed by the MIlD simulation. Particles are tracked until they are lost from the system downstream or into the atmosphere, using the full equations of motion. Results are compared with the observed ring current and a simulation of polar and auroral wind outflows driven globally by solar wind dynamic pressure. We find good quantitative agreement with the observed ring current, and reasonable qualitative agreement with earlier simulation results, suggesting that the solar wind driven global simulation generates realistic energy dissipation in the ionosphere and that the Strangeway relations provide a realistic local outflow description.

[1] The moderate storm of 22 July 2009 is the largest measured during the extended solar minimum between December 2006 and March 2010. We present observations of this storm made by the two wide-angle imaging neutral-atom spectrometers (TWINS) mission. The TWINS mission measures energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) using sensors mounted on two separate spacecrafts. Because the two spacecrafts' orbital planes are significantly offset, the pair provides a nearly optimal combination of continuous magnetospheric observations from at least one of the TWINS platforms with several hours of simultaneous, dual-platform viewing over each orbit. The ENA imaging study presented in this paper is the first reported magnetospheric storm for which both continuous coverage and stereoscopic imaging were available. Two populations of ENAs are observed during this storm. The first are emissions from the ring current and come from a parent population of trapped ions in the inner magnetosphere. The second, low-altitude emissions (LAEs), are the result of precipitating ions which undergo multiple charge exchange and stripping collisions with the oxygen exosphere. The temporal evolution of this storm shows that the LAEs begin earlier and are the brightest emissions seen during the main phase, while later, during the recovery, the LAE is only as bright as the bulk ring current emissions.

We present simulation results from a one-way coupled global MHD model (Block-Adaptive-Tree Solar-Wind Roe-Type Upwind Scheme, BATS-R-US) and kinetic ring current models (Comprehensive Ring Current Model, CRCM, and Fok Ring Current, FokRC). The BATS-R-US provides the CRCM/FokRC with magnetic field information and plasma density/temperature at the polar CRCM/FokRC boundary. The CRCM uses an electric potential from the BATS-R-US ionospheric solver at the polar CRCM boundary in order to calculate the electric field pattern consistent with the CRCM pressure distribution. The FokRC electric field potential is taken from BATS-R-US ionospheric solver everywhere in the modeled region, and the effect of Region II currents is neglected. We show that for an idealized case with southward-northward-southward Bz IMF turning, CRCM-BATS-R-US reproduces well known features of inner magnetosphere electrodynamics: strong/weak convection under the southward/northward Bz; electric field shielding/overshielding/penetration effects; an injection during the substorm development; Subauroral Ion Drift or Polarization Jet (SAID/PJ) signature in the dusk sector. Furthermore, we find for the idealized case that SAID/PJ forms during the substorm growth phase, and that substorm injection has its own structure of field-aligned currents which resembles a substorm current wedge. For an actual event (12 August 2000 storm), we calculate ENA emissions and compare with Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration/High Energy Neutral Atom data. The CRCM-BATS-R-US reproduces both the global morphology of ring current and the fine structure of ring current injection. The FokRC-BATS-R-US shows the effect of a realistic description of Region II currents in ring current-MHD coupled models.

Further development of our self-consistent model of interacting ring current (RC) ions and electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is presented. This model incorporates large scale magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling and treats self-consistently not only EMIC waves and RC ions, but also the magnetospheric electric field, RC, and plasmasphere. Initial simulations indicate that the region beyond geostationary orbit should be included in the simulation of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. Additionally, a self-consistent description, based on first principles, of the ionospheric conductance is required. These initial simulations further show that in order to model the EMIC wave distribution and wave spectral properties accurately, the plasmasphere should also be simulated self-consistently, since its fine structure requires as much care as that of the RC. Finally, an effect of the finite time needed to reestablish a new potential pattern throughout the ionosphere and to communicate between the ionosphere and the equatorial magnetosphere cannot be ignored.

[1] During the intense magnetic storm of 15 December 2006, the midlatitude Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) Hokkaido radar observed a dynamical character of rapid, westward flows at 50-56 magnetic latitude. The simulation that couples the inner magnetosphere and the subauroral ionosphere was performed using a realistic boundary condition of the hot ion distribution determined from four Los Alamos National Laboratory satellites at 6.6 R E . The following results are obtained using the simulation: (1) In general, morphology of the azimuthal component of the simulated ionospheric plasma flow is consistent with that known as the subauroral polarization stream (SAPS), (2) an increase in the hot ion density in the plasma sheet results in the temporal reduction and subsequent intensification of the rapid flow at certain subauroral latitudes with a delay of ~40 min, and (3) influence of the plasma sheet temperature on the rapid flow is not evident. The simulated line-of-sight velocity is compared with that obtained by the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar. Agreement between them is found in terms of the temporal and spatial variations of the rapid flows as well as the flow velocity. It is suggested that the dynamical character of the subauroral plasma flow is a direct manifestation of the plasma pressure distribution in the inner magnetosphere (the ring current) especially during the magnetic storm.

The elevation of the subauroral electron temperature is one of the phenomena showing the energy transfer from the magnetosphere and the response of the ionosphere. This study addresses solar cycle variations in the subauroral Te peak by comparing observations of the subauroral peak by the Atmosphere Explorer C (AE-C) satellite near solar minimum (1974 and 1977) with similar observations by the Dynamics Explorer 2 (DE 2) satellite near solar maximum (1981-1982). Te peaks with magnitudes sufficient to produce observable stable auroral red arc emissions occurred more frequently during solar maximum than in solar minimum, but the variation in the magnitudes and positions of these peaks with magnetic activity did not change significantly with solar cycle. These results are discussed in terms of the solar cycle changes in the ionosphere and the magnetospheric energy source.

[1] We investigate the fate of a plasmaspheric plume generated by a discrete period of southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) to assess its contribution to plasma sheet and ring current pressure and compare with that for other sources. We use test particle motions in Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) global circulation model fields. The inner magnetosphere is simulated with the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) model of Fok and Wolf, driven by the transpolar potential developed by the LFM magnetosphere. A variant of the Ober plasmasphere model is embedded within the models and driven by them. Global circulation is stimulated by a period of southward IMF embedded within a long interval of northward IMF. This leads to the production of a well-defined plasmaspheric plume, enhancing the plasma density sunward of the plasmasphere. Test particles are launched with the properties of plasmaspheric ions on the L = 6.6 RE shell and weighted with densities as specified by the Ober model, as it responds to convection imposed by CRCM. Particles are tracked until they are lost from the system downstream or into the atmosphere, using the Delcourt full equations of motion, implemented for finite element fields. Results are compared with earlier computations of polar and auroral wind outflows. The plume produces an enhanced flow of plasma ∼10 times the normal polar wind global fluence. However, we find that most of the “plasmaspheric wind” is lost from the magnetosphere such that its contribution to the ring current energy density is comparable to that of the normal polar wind for this type of event.

We present energetic neutral atom (ENA) images in the energy range 45 to 50 keV for H and 92 to 138 keV for O measured by the Neutral Atom Detector Unit (NUADU) onboard Double Star TC-2 during a geomagnetic storm on 8 May 2005. We compare the ion fluxes deduced from inversion of the NUADU image with those calculated using the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM). This comparison shows that the two approaches are consistent when used to derive the configuration of the corresponding global ion distribution and the peak ion fluxes. The deduced peak ion flux is located in the premidnight sector at 1540 UT, while the deduced ion peak flux is located in the midnight sector at 1610 UT. There are strong ion fluxes in the region between L = 2 and L = 4 which form a closed loop configuration. The ion peak flux is about 2.2 x 10(6)/cm(2)/sr/keV/s. The deduced ion distribution agrees well with the NUADU measurement. The agreement between the inverted ion distributions and the CRCM results give us confidence in applying our ENA imaging and modeling techniques to the study of the evolution of the inner magnetosphere plasma distribution and the global dynamics of the ring current during magnetic storms.

[1] Introducing kinetic corrections into the to BATSRUS code in the magnetotail region leads to fast reconnection rates observed in kinetic simulations and quasi-periodic loading-unloading cycles in the magnetotail during a long period of steady southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz (Kuznetsova et al., 2006, 2007). We use the global MHD code BATSRUS output to drive the Fok Ring Current (FRC) model, which then exhibits quasi-periodic oscillations of geosynchronous energetic particle fluxes, similar to “sawtooth” injection profiles. We compare these results with the results of the FRC model driven by BATSRUS for periodically flipping IMF Bz component, without kinetic corrections. The comparison shows the dominant role of quasi-periodic loading-unloading in the tail over the role of flipping IMF Bz component in the formation of geosynchronous fluxes for various energies. This same result is confirmed by the analysis of particle number and energy content within geosynchronous orbit.

During prolonged intervals of negative interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B z the magnetosphere often enters a state in which quasi-periodic, large-amplitude oscillations of energetic particle fluxes are observed at the geosynchronous orbit. We use the global magnetosphere MHD code BATS-R-US output during a long period of steady southward IMF B z to drive the Fok Ring Current Model. Previous simulations of such events demonstrated flat behavior of the energetic particle fluxes after the initial injection. Periodical north/south IMF turning was required to reproduce oscillations in particle fluxes at geosynchronous orbit. In the present study we use a global magnetosphere MHD code that reproduces fast magnetotail reconnection rates observed in kinetic simulations. This results in periodical loading-unloading cycles in the magnetotail even for steady southward B z and can explain quasi-periodic oscillations of geosynchronous energetic particle fluxes. The total proton energy within geosynchronous orbit exhibits overall growth in time due to quasi-steady convection and oscillates due to injection through inductive electric field caused by multiple dipolarization. The flux oscillation amplitude is stronger in- the outer regions of the ring current although the regions close to the geosynchronous orbit experience substantial perturbations as well.

International audience; Recent observations have quantified the auroral wind O+ outflow in response to magnetospheric inputs to the ionosphere, notably Poynting energy flux and precipitating electron density. For moderate to high activity periods, ionospheric O+ is observed to become a significant or dominant component of plasma pressure in the inner plasma sheet and ring current regions. Using a global circulation model of magnetospheric fields and its imposed ionospheric boundary conditions, we evaluate the global ionospheric plasma response to local magnetospheric conditions imposed by the simulation and evaluate magnetospheric circulation of solar wind H+, polar wind H+, and auroral wind O+. We launch and track the motions of millions of test particles in the global fields, launched at randomly distributed positions and times. Each particle is launched with a flux weighting and perpendicular and parallel energies randomly selected from defined thermal ranges appropriate to the launch point. One sequence is driven by a two-hour period of southward interplanetary magnetic field for average solar wind intensity. A second is driven by a 2-h period of enhanced solar wind dynamic pressure for average interplanetary field. We find that the simulated ionospheric O+ becomes a significant plasma pressure component in the inner plasma sheet and outer ring current region, particularly when the solar wind is intense or its magnetic field is southward directed. We infer that the reported empirical scalings of auroral wind O+ outflows are consistent with a substantial pressure contribution to the inner plasma sheet and plasma source surrounding the ring current. This result violates the common assumption that the ionospheric load is entirely confined to the F layer, and shows that the ionosphere is often an important dynamic element throughout the magnetosphere during moderate to large solar wind disturbances.

[1] X rays are produced throughout the terrestrial magnetosheath as a consequence of charge transfer collisions between heavy solar wind ions and exospheric neutrals. The solar wind ions resulting from these collisions are left in highly excited states and emit extreme ultraviolet or soft X-ray photons. We previously simulated X-ray images of the magnetosheath as seen from an observation point outside the geocorona for average solar wind conditions. The locations of the bow shock and magnetopause were evident in these images, but the cusps were not taken into account. For the current paper we used dynamic three-dimensional MHD simulations of the solar wind, magnetosheath, and magnetosphere for the 31 March 2001 geomagnetic storm. A sky map was generated of the expected X-ray emissions as seen by a hypothetical X-ray detector on the IMAGE spacecraft. Modeled images as seen from an observation point well outside the geocorona were also created. The cusps can clearly be detected in both types of simulated images. Images of the magnetosheath in energy neutral atoms (ENA) also show the cusps. X-ray imaging of the magnetosheath, revealing the structure of the magnetopause and the bow shock, if carried out, could potentially make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the solar wind interaction with the magnetosheath.

[1] During storm-time substorms the IMAGE/High-Energy Neutral Atom (HENA) global magnetospheric plasma imager observes dramatic rise and fall of the oxygen energetic neutral atom (ENA) fluxes in the 29-180 keV range that are well correlated with substorm onsets. The corresponding hydrogen ENA flux (10-198 keV) shows a much more gradual rise and fall. We use a three-dimensional test particle code in time varying electric and magnetic fields to study mechanisms causing the dramatic oxygen variation. Consistent with our previous work, we find that nonadiabatic heating occurs during the dipolarization of the geomagnetic field. The simulation model reproduces key features including the high-altitude increase of the ENA flux and enhancement timescale.

[1] In sudden flux increases at synchronous altitude the lower energy channels often show progressively more delay or dispersion. It is usually assumed that the dispersion is caused by a simultaneous injection of particles of all energies at some location, and by the subsequent drift of these particles to the synchronous altitude measurement site “downstream” of the injection event. In this paper we present a method for timing and locating the injections from proton auroral precipitation inferred by the Lyman α emission data from the IMAGE FUV instrument. We compare the timing of the proton flux increases observed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory synchronous altitude satellites to the time delay predicted by a model describing the longitudinal drift of particles in the magnetosphere. We present comparisons for eleven substorm particle injections and find that the observed azimuthal drift times are reasonably consistent with those calculated by a simple model using the Tsyganenko 89 magnetic and Volland electric field models as input. This consistency supports the concept that the proton auroral intensification at substorm onset and the proton injection in the magnetosphere occur at the same magnetic local time (longitude).

[1] We investigated the impact on the terrestrial ring current of a coronal mass ejection (CME) and the associated magnetic cloud that severely disturbed the Earth's magnetosphere on 20 November 2003. This CME decreased the Dst index to −472 nT, which makes it the second largest storm, based on the minimum Dst index values, observed between 1957 and 2004. Data from the DMSP, NOAA, and LANL satellites showed the unique characteristics of this storm; a polar cap potential that increased to at least 200 kV, a polar cap boundary that moved as low as about 60° MLAT, a plasma sheet density that increased to 5 cm−3 at L = 6.6 when the Dst index was near its minimum, and the inner edge of the plasma sheet ion population that penetrated into a region for which L ≤ 1.5. In order to study the dynamics of the ring current and the associated magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, we performed a ring current simulation that computed the evolution of the phase space density of the ring current ions and the closure of the electric current between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. Major results were as follows: (1) The ring current, in terms of the Dst index and the inner edge of the plasma sheet, can result from the enhancement of the convection electric field, given the polar cap potentials used in the model; (2) The solar wind particles probably penetrated quickly into the geosynchronous altitude on the nightside with a lag of about 80 min, resulting in further enhancement of the ring current; (3) Dense geocoronal neutral hydrogen or a large coefficient of pitch angle diffusion (>10−4 s−1) is probably needed to account for the rapid motion of the inner edge of the plasma sheet (or the ring current) population to a higher L value; (4) Both the simulated and observed field-aligned current (FAC) distributions show multiple current sheets, rather than the normally expected two current sheets. Fluctuations in the polar cap potential and the plasma sheet density are believed to cause the multiple sheets of field-aligned currents; (5) The equatorward edge of the Region 2 type field-aligned currents was observed to expand as low as 40° MLAT, which is consistent with the simulation; and (6) The convection pattern can be much more complicated than an average one due to a strong Region 2 FAC. A noticeable feature was the reversal of the zonal ionospheric plasma flow that emerged on the dawnside. In particular, a westward flow was observed in the equatorial region of the eastward plasma flow at dawn. Its speed had a local maximum of about 5° equatorward of the flow reversal. The flow reversal is thought to have resulted from the relatively strong shielding electric field.