The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the low-latitude boundary layer

Details The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the low-latitude boundary layer The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the low-latitude boundary layer

Oct 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981p%26ss...29.1119w&link_type=abstract

Planetary and Space Science, vol. 29, Oct. 1981, p. 1119-1133. Research supported by the South African Council for Scientific an

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Atmospheric Boundary Layer, Geomagnetic Micropulsations, Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability, Magnetopause, Magnetospheric Instability, Tropical Regions, Atmospheric Models, Equations Of Motion, Geomagnetism, Linear Equations, Plasma Pressure, Satellite Observation

Scientific paper

The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability on the magnetopause is frequently invoked as a mechanism for driving geomagnetic pulsations in the Pc3-Pc5 range, or to explain the occurrence of observed surface waves. A linear theory is developed which takes into account the finite thickness of the low-latitude boundary layer on the magnetopause, as well as the effect of gradients in plasma pressure, magnetic field magnitude and direction, and density. Computations show that the instability is suppressed at wavelengths which are short compared with the scale width of the boundary; there is thus a wavelength for which the growth rate is maximum. The computations also confirm earlier results showing that maximum growth occurs for a wave vector which is perpendicular to the magnetic field. The theory predicts wavelengths on the magnetopause of the order of ten times the thickness of the low-latitude boundary layer and periods in the Pc3-Pc5 range. The possible nonlinear development of the instability is also discussed. The predicted results are found consistent with satellite observations of pulsations.

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