Solar wind driving of substorms in different phases of the solar cycle

Details Solar wind driving of substorms in different phases of the solar cycle Solar wind driving of substorms in different phases of the solar cycle

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsm51c2110h&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SM51C-2110

Physics

[2736] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Interactions, [2740] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetospheric Configuration And Dynamics, [2784] Magnetospheric Physics / Solar Wind/Magnetosphere Interactions, [2788] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetic Storms And Substorms

Scientific paper

Substorms play a significant role in solar -terrestrial coupling. The solar wind is the driver of dynamic activity in the terrestrial magnetosphere. Magnetic reconnection on the dayside transfers momentum and energy from the solar wind to the magnetotail. The magnetotail stores this energy until reconnection begins in the central plasma sheet. The release of the stored energy is accompanied by a return of the stretched magnetotail to a more dipolar configuration. The energy release is accomplished by substorms. As the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field evolve during the solar cycle we expect the frequency and strength of substorms to change accordingly. In this study, we extend our substorm list to include cycles #20 and #21. This provides almost 4 solar cycles (#20 ~#24) of substorm onsets determined by the AL index. The preliminary results show that substorm intensity changes with the phase of the solar cycle. A relatively high substorm intensity is found in the rising phase and declining phase. Surprisingly, the substorm intensity during the solar maximum is not as high as those during either the rising or declining phases. Furthermore, it is found that the minimum of substorm intensities is delayed after the solar minimum by about 6~12 months. The reason for this is unclear. We intend to examine the characteristics of the solar wind driver to seek a possible explanation. Satellite data (ACE, Cluster, Geotail and Themis, ISEE 1/2, IMP8) observations will be used for the solar wind and magnetotail monitors.

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