bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The influence of IMF By on the nature of the nightside high-latitude ionospheric flow during intervals of positive IMF Bz
Authors: Grocott A. , Badman S. V. , Cowley S. W. H. , Yeoman T. K. , Cripps P. J. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. This paper further addresses the issue of nightside flow bursts which occur during intervals of northward but strongly BY-influenced IMF. Recent discussions of such bursts concerned intervals during which the IMF BY component was negative. The present study concerns an interval of BY-positive IMF which occurred on 20 March 2002 (01:00-12:00UT). During the interval BY increased steadily from ~2 to 12nT, whilst the BZ component decreased steadily from ~10 to 0nT. There was thus a ~6-h sub-interval during which the IMF clock angle remained between 30° and 60°, such that moderate dayside reconnection and open flux production was maintained. It is found that flow bursts of a similar size and speed to those observed under BY negative (~1000m s-1, spanning 2-3h of MLT in the midnight sector) also occur when BY is positive. However, the direction of east-west flow is reversed, indicating that they are driven by processes in the magnetosphere which are directly related to the orientation of the IMF. It is suggested that they are caused by a reconfiguration of an asymmetric tail resulting from prolonged dayside reconnection with a BY-dominated IMF. This is consistent with previous suggestions that they are associated with convective transport following reconnection in the more distant tail. Analysis of ground magnetic data, auroral images and geosynchronous particle data also show associated features, but indicate that the flow bursts are not directly associated with substorms.Key words. Ionosphere (plasma convection; ionospheremagnetosphere interactions) – Magnetospheric Physics (magnetotail)
Surface conductivity of Mercury provides current closure and may affect magnetospheric symmetry
Authors: Janhunen P. , Kallio E. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We study what effect a possible surface conductivity of Mercury has on the closure of magnetospheric currents by making six runs with a quasi-neutral hybrid simulation. The runs are otherwise identical but use different synthetic conductivity models: run 1 has a fully conducting planet, run 2 has a poorly conducting planet ( m) and runs 3-6 have one of the hemispheres either in the dawn-dusk or day-night directions, conducting well, the other one being conducting poorly. Although the surface conductivity is not known from observations, educated guesses easily give such conductivity values that magnetospheric currents may close partly within the planet, and as the conductivity depends heavily on the mineral composition of the surface, the possibility of significant horizontal variations cannot be easily excluded. The simulation results show that strong horizontal variations may produce modest magnetospheric asymmetries. Beyond the hybrid simulation, we also briefly discuss the possibility that in the nightside there may be a lack of surface electrons to carry downward current, which may act as a further source of surface-related magnetospheric asymmetry. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (planetary magnetospheres; current systems; solar wind-magnetosphere interactions).6
Some aspects of the geomagnetic response to solar wind pressure variations: a case study at low and middle latitudes
Authors: Villante U. , Di Giuseppe P. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We examined geomagnetic field observations at low and middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere during a 50-min interval (12 May 1999), characterized by a complex behaviour of the solar wind dynamic pressure. For the entire interval, the aspects of the geomagnetic response can be organized into four groups of events which show common characteristics for the H and D components, respectively. The correspondence between the magnetospheric field and the ground components reveals different aspects of the geomagnetic response in different magnetic local time (MLT) sectors. For the H component, the correspondence is highly significant in the dusk and night sectors; in the dawn and prenoon sectors it shows a dramatic change across a separation line that extends approximately between (6 MLT, 35°) and (13 MLT, 60°). For the D component, the correspondence has significant values in the dawn and prenoon regions. We propose a new approach to the experimental data analysis which reveals that, at each station, the magnetospheric field has a close correspondence with the geomagnetic field projection along an axis (M1) that progressively rotates from north/south (night events) to east/west orientation (dawn events). When projected along M1, the geomagnetic signals can be interpreted in terms of a one-dimensional pattern that mostly reflects the field behaviour observed at geostationary orbit. Several features appear more evident in this perspective, and the global geomagnetic response to the SW pressure variations appears much clearer than in other representations. In particular, the MLT dependence of the geomagnetic response is much smaller than that one estimated by previous investigations. A clear latitudinal dependence emerges in the dusk sector. The occurrence of low frequency waves at ~2.8mHz can be interpreted in terms of global magnetospheric modes driven by the SW pulse. This event occurred in the recovery phase after the day the SW almost disappeared (11 May 1999): in this sense our results suggest a rapid recovery of almost typical magnetospheric conditions soon after a huge expansion. Overshoot amplitudes, greater than in other cases, are consistent with a significant reduction of the ring current.
Substorm behavior of the auroral electrojet indices
Authors: Gjerloev J. W. , Hoffman R. A. , Friel M. M. , Frank L. A. , Sigwarth J. B. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The behavior of the auroral electrojet indices AU and AL during classical substorms is investigated by the use of global auroral images. A superposition of the 12 AE stations onto global auroral images and identification of the AL and AU contributing stations enable an understanding of the temporal as well as spatial behavior of the indices with respect to the substorm coordinate system and timeframe. Based on this simple technique it was found that at substorm onset the AL contributing station makes a characteristic jump from a location near the dawn terminator to the onset region, typically bypassing one or more AE stations. During the expansion phase this station typically lies at the poleward edge of the surge region. This is the location of the intense substorm current wedge electrojet in the semiempirical self-consistent substorm model of the three-dimensional current system by Gjerloev and Hoffman (2002). This current wedge is fed primarily pre-midnight by an imbalance of the Region 0 and Region 1 field-aligned currents, not from the dawnside westward electrojet. Then during the early recovery phase the AL contributing station jumps back to the dawn sector. The defining AU station does not show any similar systematic behavior. We also find that the dawn side westward electrojet seems to be unaffected by the introduction of the substorm current wedge. According to our model, much of this current is closed to the magnetosphere as it approaches midnight from dawn. Based on the characteristics of the AL station jumps, the behavior of the dawn-side electrojet, and the understanding of the three-dimensional substorm current system from our model, we provide additional experimental evidence for, and an understanding of, the concept of the two component westward electrojet, as suggested by Kamide and Kokubun (1996).
Observed and simulated depletion layers with southward IMF
Authors: Maynard N. C. , Burke W. J. , Scudder J. D. , Ober D. M. , Siscoe G. L. , White W. W. , Siebert K. D. , Weimer D. R. , Erickson G. M. , Schoendorf J. , Heinemann M. A. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We present observations from the Polar satellite that confirm the existence of two types of depletion layers predicted under southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions in magnetohydrodynamic simulations. The first depletion type occurs along the stagnation line when IMF BX and/or dipole tilt are/is present. Magnetic merging occurred away from the equator (Maynard et al., 2003) and flux pile-ups developed while the field lines drape to the high-latitude merging sites. This high-shear type of depletion is consistent with the depletion layer model suggested by Zwan and Wolf (1976) for low-shear northward IMF conditions. Expected sites for depletion layers are associated with places where IMF tubes of force first impinge upon the magnetopause. The second depletion type develops poleward of the cusp. Under strongly driven conditions, magnetic fields from Region 1 current closure over the lobes (Siscoe et al., 2002c) cause the high-latitude magnetopause to bulge outward, creating a shoulder above the cusp. These shoulders present the initial obstacle with which the IMF interacts. Flow is impeded, causing local flux pile-ups and low-shear depletion layers to form poleward of the cusps. Merging at the high-shear dayside magnetopause is consequently delayed. In both low- and high-shear cases, we show that the depletion layer structure is part of a slow mode wave standing in front of the magnetopause. As suggested by Southwood and Kivelson (1995), the depletions are rarefactions on the magnetopause side of slow-mode density compressions. While highly sheared magnetic fields are often used as proxies for ongoing local magnetic merging, depletion layers are prohibited at merging locations. Therefore, the existence of a depletion layer is evidence that the location of merging must be remote relative to the observation.
Properties of a bifurcated current sheet observed on 29 August 2001
Authors: Runov A. , Sergeev V. , Nakamura R. , Baumjohann W. , Vörös Z. , Volwerk M. , Asano Y. , Klecker B. , Rème H. , Balogh A. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Ion density, velocity and temperature, measured by Cluster spacecraft in the plasma sheet during an isolated substorm at 10:20-11:15 UT, 29 August 2001 are discussed. The Custer/CODIF data for subinterval 10:55-11:03 UT, during which a bifurcation of the current sheet was detected, are studied in particular. It is shown that ion density and temperature have a plateau-like profile in the central part of the bifurcated current sheet. An enhanced proton flow directed in positive YGSM was detected during the selected subinterval. Other components of proton bulk velocity are found to be negligibly small, i.e. the structure is likely not directly associated with magnetic reconnection. Alternative models, including ion anisotropy and localized magnetic turbulence, which result in a two-peak profile of the current density, are discussed briefly.
Cluster survey of the high-altitude cusp properties: a three-year statistical study
Authors: Lavraud B. , Fedorov A. , Budnik E. , Grigoriev A. , Cargill P. J. , Dunlop M. W. , Rème H. , Dandouras I. , Balogh A. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The global characteristics of the high-altitude cusp and its surrounding regions are investigated using a three-year statistical survey based on data obtained by the Cluster spacecraft. The analysis involves an elaborate orbit-sampling methodology that uses a model field and takes into account the actual solar wind conditions and level of geomagnetic activity. The spatial distribution of the magnetic field and various plasma parameters in the vicinity of the low magnetic field exterior cusp are determined and it is found that: 1) The magnetic field distribution shows the presence of an intermediate region between the magnetosheath and the magnetosphere: the exterior cusp, 2) This region is characterized by the presence of dense plasma of magnetosheath origin; a comparison with the Tsyganenko (1996) magnetic field model shows that it is diamagnetic in nature, 3) The spatial distributions show that three distinct boundaries with the lobes, the dayside plasma sheet and the magnetosheath surround the exterior cusp, 4) The external boundary with the magnetosheath has a sharp bulk velocity gradient, as well as a density decrease and temperature increase as one goes from the magnetosheath to the exterior cusp, 5) While the two inner boundaries form a funnel, the external boundary shows no clear indentation, 6) The plasma and magnetic pressure distributions suggest that the exterior cusp is in equilibrium with its surroundings in a statistical sense, and 7) A preliminary analysis of the bulk flow distributions suggests that the exterior cusp is stagnant under northward IMF conditions but convective under southward IMF conditions.
Longitudinal differences observed in the ionospheric F-region during the major geomagnetic storm of 31 March 2001
Authors: Sahai Y. , Fagundes P. R. , Becker-Guedes F. , Abalde J. R. , Crowley G. , Pi X. , Igarashi K. , Amarante G. M. , Pimenta A. A. , Bittencourt J. A. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. A new ionospheric sounding station using a Canadian Advanced Digital Ionosonde (CADI) was established for routine measurements by the "Universidade do Vale do Paraiba (UNIVAP)" at São José dos Campos (23.2° S, 45.9° W), Brazil, in August 2000. A major geomagnetic storm with gradual commencement at about 01:00 UT was observed on 31 March 2001. In this paper, we present and discuss salient features from the ionospheric sounding measurements carried out at S. J. Campos on the three consecutive UT days 30 March (quiet), 31 March (disturbed) and 1 April (recovery) 2001. During most of the storm period, the foF2 values showed negative phase, whereas during the two storm-time peaks, large F-region height variations were observed. In order to study the longitudinal differences observed in the F-region during the storm, the simultaneous ionospheric sounding measurements carried out at S. J. Campos, El Arenosillo (37.1° N, 6.7° W), Spain, Okinawa (26.3° N, 127.8° E), Japan and Wakkanai (45.5° N, 141.7° E), Japan, during the period 30 March-1 April 2001, have been analyzed. A comparison of the observed ionospheric parameters (h'F and foF2) in the two longitudinal zones (1. Japanese and 2. Brazilian-Spanish) shows both similarities and differences associated with the geomagnetic disturbances. Some latitudinal differences are also observed in the two longitudinal zones. In addition, global ionospheric TEC maps from the worldwide network of GPS receivers are presented, showing widespread TEC changes during both the main and recovery phases of the storm. The ionospheric sounding measurements are compared with the ASPEN-TIMEGCM model runs appropriate for the storm conditions. The model results produce better agreement during the quiet period. During the disturbed period, some of the observed F-region height variations are well reproduced by the model results. The model foF2 and TEC results differ considerably during the recovery period and indicate much stronger negative phase at all the stations, particularly at the low-latitude ones.
&lt;i&gt;F&lt;/i&gt;-region ionospheric perturbations in the low-latitude ionosphere during the geomagnetic storm of 25-27 August 1987
Authors: Pavlov A. V. , Fukao S. , Kawamura S. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We have presented a comparison between the modeled NmF2 and hmF2, and NmF2 and hmF2 which were observed at the equatorial anomaly crest and close to the geomagnetic equator simultaneously by the Akita, Kokubunji, Yamagawa, Okinawa, Manila, Vanimo, and Darwin ionospheric sounders and by the middle and upper atmosphere (MU) radar (34.85° N, 136.10° E) during the 25-27 August 1987 geomagnetically storm-time period at low solar activity near 201°, geomagnetic longitude. A comparison between the electron and ion temperatures measured by the MU radar and those produced by the model of the ionosphere and plasmasphere is presented. The corrections of the storm-time zonal electric field, EΛ, from 16:30 UT to 21:00 UT on 25 August bring the modeled and measured hmF2 into reasonable agreement. In both hemispheres, the meridional neutral wind, W, taken from the HWW90 wind model and the NRLMSISE-00 neutral temperature, Tn, and densities are corrected so that the model results agree with the ionospheric sounders and MU radar observations. The geomagnetic latitude variations in NmF2 on 26 August differ significantly from those on 25 and 27 August. The equatorial plasma fountain undergoes significant inhibition on 26 August. This suppression of the equatorial anomaly on 26 August is not due to a reduction in the meridional component of the plasma drift perpendicular to the geomagnetic field direction, but is due to the action of storm-time changes in neutral winds and densities on the plasma fountain process. The asymmetry in W determines most of the north-south asymmetry in hmF2 and NmF2 on 25 and 27 August between about 01:00-01:30 UT and about 14:00 UT when the equatorial anomaly exists in the ionosphere, while asymmetries in W, Tn, and neutral densities relative to the geomagnetic equator are responsible for the north-south asymmetry in NmF2 and hmF2 on 26 August. A theory of the primary mechanisms causing the morning and evening peaks in the electron temperature, Te, is developed. An appearance, magnitude variations, latitude variations, and a disappearance of the morning Te peaks during 25-27 August are caused by variations in EΛ, thermospheric composition, Tn, and W. The magnitude of the evening Te peak and its time location are decreased with the lowering of the geomagnetic latitude due to the weakening of the effect of the plasma drift caused by W on the electron density. The difference between 25 August and 26-27 August in an appearance, magnitude and latitude variations, and a disappearance of the evening Te peak is caused by variations in W, the thermospheric composition, Tn, and EΛ.
Magnetic local time, substorm, and particle precipitation-related variations in the behaviour of SuperDARN Doppler spectral widths
Authors: Parkinson M. L. , Chisham G. , Pinnock M. , Dyson P. L. , Devlin J. C. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (DARN) radars often detect a distinct transition in line-of-sight Doppler velocity spread, or spectral width, from <50ms–1 at lower latitude to >200ms–1 at higher latitude. They also detect a similar boundary, namely the range at which ionospheric scatter with large spectral width suddenly commences (i.e. without preceding scatter with low spectral width). The location and behaviour of the spectral width boundary (SWB) (and scatter boundary) and the open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) are thought to be closely related. The location of the nightside OCB can be inferred from the poleward edge of the auroral oval determined using energy spectra of precipitating particles measured on board Defence Meteorology Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. Observations made with the Halley SuperDARN radar (75.5° S, 26.6° W, geographic; –62.0°Λ) and the Tasman International Geospace Environment Radar (TIGER) (43.4° S, 147.2° E; –54.5°Λ) are used to compare the location of the SWB with the DMSP-inferred OCB during 08:00 to 22:00 UT on 1 April 2000. This study interval was chosen because it includes several moderate substorms, whilst the Halley radar provided almost continuous high-time resolution measurements of the dayside SWB location and shape, and TIGER provided the same in the nightside ionosphere. The behaviour of the day- and nightside SWB can be understood in terms of the expanding/contracting polar cap model of high-latitude convection change, and the behaviour of the nightside SWB can also be organised according to substorm phase. Previous comparisons with DMSP OCBs have proven that the radar SWB is often a reasonable proxy for the OCB from dusk to just past midnight (Chisham et al., 2004). However, the present case study actually suggests that the nightside SWB is often a better proxy for the poleward edge of Pedersen conductance enhanced by hot particle precipitation in the auroral zone. Simple modeling implies that the large spectral widths must be caused by ~10-km scale velocity fluctuations. Key words. Ionosphere (auroral ionosphere; ionospheremagnetosphere interactions) – Magnetospheric physics (storms and substorms)
A joint Cluster and ground-based instruments study of two magnetospheric substorm events on 1 September 2002
Authors: Draper N. C. , Lester M. , Wild J. A. , Milan S. E. , Provan G. , Grocott A. , Cowley S. W. H. , Bogdanova Y. , Dewhurst J. P. , Fazakerley A. N. , Davies J. A. , Bosqued J.-M. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We present a coordinated ground- and space-based multi-instrument study of two magnetospheric substorm events that occurred on 1 September 2002, during the interval from 18:00 UT to 24:00 UT. Data from the Cluster and Polar spacecraft are considered in combination with ground-based magnetometer and HF radar data. During the first substorm event the Cluster spacecraft, which were in the Northern Hemisphere lobe, are to the west of the main region affected by the expansion phase. Nevertheless, substorm signatures are seen by Cluster at 18:25 UT (just after the expansion phase onset as seen on the ground at 18:23 UT), despite the ~5 RE} distance of the spacecraft from the plasma sheet. The Cluster spacecraft then encounter an earthward-moving diamagnetic cavity at 19:10 UT, having just entered the plasma sheet boundary layer. The second substorm expansion phase is preceded by pseudobreakups at 22:40 and 22:56 UT, at which time thinning of the near-Earth, L=6.6, plasma sheet occurs. The expansion phase onset at 23:05 UT is seen simultaneously in the ground magnetic field, in the magnetotail and at Polar's near-Earth position. The response in the ionospheric flows occurs one minute later. The second substorm better fits the near-Earth neutral line model for substorm onset than the cross-field current instability model. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (Magnetosphereionosphere interactions; Magnetic reconnection; Auroral phenomenon)
Diurnal and seasonal variations of &lt;i&gt;hm&lt;/i&gt;F2 deduced from digitalionosonde over New Delhi and its comparison with IRI 2001
Authors: Sethi N. K. , Dabas R. S. , Vohra V. K. 
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Using digital ionosonde observations at a low mid-latitude station, New Delhi (28.6°N, 77.2°E, dip 42.4°N), we have derived hourly monthly values of hmF2 (the real height corresponding to the peak electron density in the F2-region), employing both the Dudeney (1983) and Bilitza (1990) empirical formulations for the period from January 2001 to August 2002. The diurnal and seasonal variations of hmF2 are analyzed. Further, to assess the predictability of the latest available model, International Reference Ionosphere, (IRI-2001), we have obtained the median values of hmF2 derived from M(3000)F2 for each hour during different seasons and compare these with the model. Our results show that both the Dudeney (1983) and Bilitza (1990) formulations reveal more or less a similar diurnal trend of hmF2, with higher values around midnight and lower during sunrise, in all the seasons. It is also noted that the hmF2 shows a larger variability around midnight than by daytime, in all the seasons. Further, the study shows that median values of observed hmF2, using both formulations, are somewhat larger than those predicted by the IRI, in all seasons and at all local times. During summer, the IRI values agree comparatively well with the observations, especially during daytime. Major discrepancies occur when the IRI underestimates observed hmF2 for local times from about 14:00 LT to 18:00 LT and 04:00 LT to 05:00 LT during winter and equinox, where the percentage deviation of the observed hmF2 values with respect to the IRI model varies from 15 to 25%. The difference between the model and observations, outside this time period, remains less than 20% during all the seasons. Key words. Ionosphere (modelling and forecasting; equatorial ionosphere)