A Statistical Study of the Global Structure of the Ring Current

Physics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

2708 Current Systems (2409), 2730 Magnetosphere: Inner, 2778 Ring Current, 2788 Storms And Substorms

Scientific paper

In this paper we derive the average configuration of the ring current as a function of the state of the magnetosphere as indicated by the Dst index. We sort magnetic field data from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) by spatial location and by the Dst index in order to produce magnetic field maps. From these maps we calculate local current systems by taking the curl of the magnetic field. We find both the westward (outer) and the eastward (inner) components of the ring current. We find that the ring current intensity varies linearly with Dst as expected, and that the ring current is asymmetric for all Dst values. The azimuthal peak of the ring current is located in the afternoon sector for quiet conditions, and near midnight for disturbed conditions. The ring current also moves closer to the Earth during disturbed conditions. We attempt to recreate the Dst index by integrating the magnetic perturbations caused by the ring current. We find that we need to multiply our computed disturbance by a factor of 1.88+/-0.27 and add an offset of 3.84+/-4.33 nT in order to get optimal agreement with Dst. When taking into account a tail current contribution of roughly 25% [Turner et al., 2002], this agree well with our expectation of a factor of 1.3 to 1.5 based on a partially conducting Earth. The offset does not agree well with an offset of approximately 20 nT based on solar wind pressure.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

A Statistical Study of the Global Structure of the Ring Current does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with A Statistical Study of the Global Structure of the Ring Current, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Statistical Study of the Global Structure of the Ring Current will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1651105

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.