Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsm11a2010j&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SM11A-2010
Physics
[2736] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Interactions, [2740] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, [2756] Magnetospheric Physics / Planetary Magnetospheres, [6275] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Saturn
Scientific paper
Properties of Saturn's magnetospheric plasma, magnetic field and radio emissions vary at a ~10.7 hour period, close to the period of planetary rotation with drifts of ~1% per year. Identifying the cause of the periodicities has proved challenging because drivers internal to Saturn are inconsistent with the drifting period and rotating magnetospheric asymmetries lack the inertia to remain stable in phase. The ionosphere/thermosphere/upper-atmosphere, with low enough inertia to allow drift and high enough inertia to maintain phase coherence, is a plausible source region. Ionospheric properties affect the global magnetosphere most strongly by generating field-aligned currents, and vortical flows in the ionosphere are an effective source of such currents. Here, we use a global MHD model to investigate the response of the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere to a flow vortex fixed in the rotating southern ionosphere/thermosphere under nominal southern summer conditions. We find that the response of the magnetosphere to the imposed flow anomaly reproduces a host of magnetospheric phenomena that have been observed during southern summer. In this presentation, we will introduce the basics of the global MHD simulation and the flow vortex model, followed by discussions on simulation results regarding the global magnetospheric response to the imposed ionospheric vortex. We also explore other forms of ionospheric flow vortex and show that a single vortex could also provide the required symmetry inferred from magnetospheric observations.
Galland Kivelson Margaret
Gombosi Tamas I.
Jia Xun
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