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We present a reconstruction technique to solve the steady resistive MHD equations in two dimensions with initial inputs of field and plasma data from a single spacecraft as it passes through a coherent structure in space. At least two components of directly measured electric fields (the spacecraft spin-plane components) are required for the reconstruction, to produce two-dimensional (2-D) field and plasma maps of the cross section of the structure. For convenience, the resistivity tensor η is assumed diagonal in the reconstruction coordinates, which allows its values to be estimated from Ohm's law, E+v×B=η·j. In the present paper, all three components of the electric field are used. We benchmark our numerical code by use of an exact, axi-symmetric solution of the resistive MHD equations and then apply it to synthetic data from a 3-D, resistive, MHD numerical simulation of reconnection in the geomagnetic tail, in a phase of the event where time dependence and deviations from 2-D are both weak. The resistivity used in the simulation is time-independent and localized around the reconnection site in an ellipsoidal region. For the magnetic field, plasma density, and pressure, we find very good agreement between the reconstruction results and the simulation, but the electric field and plasma velocity are not predicted with the same high accuracy.

For two events observed by the CLUSTER spacecraft, the field line distribution of mass density ρ was inferred from Alfvén wave harmonic frequencies and compared to the electron density ne from plasma wave data and the oxygen density nO+ from the ion composition experiment. In one case, the average ion mass M≈ρ/ne was about 5 amu (28 October 2002), while in the other it was about 3 amu (10 September 2002). Both events occurred when the CLUSTER 1 (C1) spacecraft was in the plasmatrough. Nevertheless, the electron density ne was significantly lower for the first event (ne=8 cm−3) than for the second event (ne=22 cm−3), and this seems to be the main difference leading to a different value of M. For the first event (28 October 2002), we were able to measure the Alfvén wave frequencies for eight harmonics with unprecedented precision, so that the error in the inferred mass density is probably dominated by factors other than the uncertainty in frequency (e.g., magnetic field model and theoretical wave equation). This field line distribution (at L=4.8) was very flat for magnetic latitude |MLAT|≲20° but very steeply increasing with respect to |MLAT| for |MLAT|≳40°. The total variation in ρ was about four orders of magnitude, with values at large |MLAT| roughly consistent with ionospheric values. For the second event (10 September 2002), there was a small local maximum in mass density near the magnetic equator. The inferred mass density decreases to a minimum 23% lower than the equatorial value at |MLAT|=15.5°, and then steeply increases as one moves along the field line toward the ionosphere. For this event we were also able to examine the spatial dependence of the electron density using measurements of ne from all four CLUSTER spacecraft. Our analysis indicates that the density varies with L at L~5 roughly like L−4, and that ne is also locally peaked at the magnetic equator, but with a smaller peak. The value of ne reaches a density minimum about 6% lower than the equatorial value at |MLAT|=12.5°, and then increases steeply at larger values of |MLAT|. This is to our knowledge the first evidence for a local peak in bulk electron density at the magnetic equator. Our results show that magnetoseismology can be a useful technique to determine the field line distribution of the mass density for CLUSTER at perigee and that the distribution of electron density can also be inferred from measurements by multiple spacecraft.

A study of Pc-5 magnetic pulsations using data from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) was carried out. Three-component dynamic magnetic field spectrograms have been used to survey ULF pulsation activity for the approximate fourteen month lifetime of CRRES. Two-hour panels of dynamic spectra were examined to find events which fall into two basic categories: 1) toroidal modes (fundamental and harmonic resonances) and 2) poloidal modes, which include compressional oscillations. The occurence rates were determined as a function of L value and local time. The main result is a comparable probability of occurence of toroidal mode oscillations on the dawn and dusk sides of the magnetosphere inside geosynchronous orbit, while poloidal mode oscillations occur predominantly along the dusk side, consistent with high azimuthal mode number excitation by ring current ions. Pc-5 pulsations following Storm Sudden Commencements (SSCs) were examined separately. The spatial distribution of modes for the SSC events was consistent with the statistical study for the lifetime of CRRES. The toroidal fundamental (and harmonic) resonances are the dominant mode seen on the dawn-side of the magnetosphere following SSCs. Power is mixed in all three components. In the 21 dusk side SSC events there were only a few examples of purely compressional (two) or radial (one) power in the CRRES study, a few more examples of purely toroidal modes (six), with all three components predominant in about half (ten) of the events. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (MHD waves and instabilities; magnetospheric configuration and dynamics) – Space plasma physics (waves and instabilities)

Spacecraft-borne and ground-based magnetometers frequently detect magnetospheric micropulsations in the period range 0.2–10 s, termed Pc 1–2, and attributed to electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves driven by temperature anisotropy (T^ > T ||). Previous surveys of Pc 1 occurrence locations have been limited to L < 9. We present AMPTE/IRM observations of the distribution of Pc 1 waves out to the magnetopause, for a limited region of MLT = 10–14. The probability of wave occurrence Pwav is large (> 0.15) between L = 7–12, peaking at L = 8–10 (Pwav ~ 0.25). When the L-value is normalized to the magnetopause position Lmp, however, the highest probabilities of Pc 1 wave occurrence are close to the magnetopause, with Pwav ~0.25 for Lnorm = L/Lmp = 0.8–1.0. These results are consistent with increased convective growth rate at large L and with the greater effect of magnetosphere compression close to the magnetopause. On the other hand, we only directly observe magnetic field compression for at most about 25% of the wave events.Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetospheric configuration and dynamics; MHD waves and instabilities; plasma waves and instabilities)