Other
Scientific paper
May 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm..sm51b06e&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #SM51B-06
Other
2708 Current Systems (2409), 2724 Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, 2736 Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Interactions, 2740 Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, 2760 Plasma Convection
Scientific paper
In February of 2001, the Cluster orbit plane lined up approximately along the noon-midnight meridian, affording passages through the northern and southern high-altitude cusps. During this period the FAST orbit provided passes through the southern low-altitude cusp and polar cap at much lower ( ~3000 km) altitudes. In the interval from 23:10 UT on 20 February through at least 00:30 on 21 February, 2001, Cluster was inbound crossing the southern cusp. The four Cluster spacecraft passed from a magnetosheath field with |B| ~ 35 - 40 nT, BZ > 0, and BY < 0, into a region of lower average field strength and considerable variability. Excursions of up to 40 nT are seen in BZ and BY GSE, some coherent between spacecraft. Thereafter, the spacecraft enter a region of quieter, southwardly-oriented field which rapidly grows in strength from 40 to over 70 nT, evidently the magnetospheric field lines poleward of the cusp proper. Here velocity dispersed ions are seen. At about this time, FAST is crossing from plasma sheet to boundary layer/polar cap in the early afternoon sector. Though not at the cusp, FAST does sample the afternoon convection reversal and the magnetic stresses resulting in ionospheric convection there. On the next orbit FAST passes very close to the mapped Cluster footpoint in the polar cap, and still later ( ~03:30 UT) observes velocity dispersed ions. The FAST magnetic stress/ionospheric convection observations can be compared to the Weimer convection model, once IMF conditions are known. FAST thus provides in effect a snapshot of the ionospheric convection while Cluster provides information on the high-altitude processes as input. Though the analysis of these observations is in a very prelminary state, FAST clearly paints out the low-altitude particle and field signatures of the near-cusp and polar cap region that Cluster passes through at high altitudes. Other FAST/Cluster conjunctions in the same February 2001 time frame can help us understand the connection between high- and low-altitude solar wind/magnetosphere/ionosphere coupling.
Balogh André
Cargill Peter
Cattell Cynthia A.
Dors Eric E.
Dunlop Malcolm W.
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