Ring currents at Earth, Jupiter and Saturn: Similarities and Differences

Details Ring currents at Earth, Jupiter and Saturn: Similarities and Differences Ring currents at Earth, Jupiter and Saturn: Similarities and Differences

Aug 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007epsc.conf..714k&link_type=abstract

European Planetary Science Congress 2007, Proceedings of a conference held 20-24 August, 2007 in Potsdam, Germany. Online at ht

Computer Science

Scientific paper

A ring current at Earth was proposed by Chapman and Ferraro in the 1930s to explain the decrease in the equatorial magnetic field during geomagnetic storms; the detailed nature in terms of composition and energy content was not determined until the mid-eighties by the AMPTE mission (Krimigis et al, 1985). It was measured in the L-range ~3 to ~5, with most of the pressure in the energy range ~20 to ~300 keV, and to consist of both H+ and O+, with the oxygen accounting for the development and early decay of the storm main phase while H+ persisted for longer time periods. Jupiter's ring current was first measured partially by Voyager, with heavier ions (O+, S+) playing a dominant role. Galileo's survey (Mauk et al, 2004) showed that it extended from ~6 to ~20 RJ , the main contribution coming from heavy ions with E > 50 keV and plasma beta in the range ~0.1 to ~100. Recent Cassini/MIMI measurements of Saturn's ring current (Sergis et al, 2006) revealed a region in the L range ~9 to ~18, most of the pressure in the range ~10 to ~200 keV, and consisting of both H+ and O+ ions with the O+ providing most of the pressure during active periods when beta exceeds ~1. Recent Saturn results have also revealed a strong day-night asymmetry, with the plasma sheet extending much farther from the equatorial plane on the dayside and lifted above that plane at larger distances on the nightside At all three planets the ring current is maintained by particle injections within the parent magnetosphere. In the case of Earth, ionospheric sources dominate; at Jupiter, Io's volcanoes provide the gas that is subsequently ionized and accelerated; at Saturn the gas is provided by the icy satellites (Enceladus) /rings and ionization and acceleration

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