Determination of the Earth's plasmapause location from the CE‐3 EUVC images

He, Fei; Zhang, Xiaoxin; Chen, Bin; Fok, M. C. H.; Nakano, S.

doi:10.1002/2015ja021863

Cited by 20 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The orbital regression cycle of CRRES and VAP is approximately 2 years, and that of the other satellites except CE 3 is 1 year, making all of magnetic local time (MLT) sampled. It is noted that the CE 3 lunar lander is on the lunar surface (~60 R E away from the Earth), and the plasmaspheric images from EUVC were only obtained in the magnetic local time (MLT) sector between 4.0 h and 6.0 h [ He et al ., ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new solar wind‐driven global dynamic plasmapause model: 1. Database and statistics

Zhang

Ruan

et al. 2017

JGR Space Physics

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A large database, possibly the largest plasmapause location database, with 49,119 plasmapause crossing events from the in situ observations and 3957 plasmapause profiles (corresponding to 48,899 plasmapause locations in 1 h magnetic local time (MLT) intervals) from optical remote sensing from 1977 to 2015 by 18 satellites is compiled. The responses of the global plasmapause to solar wind and geomagnetic changes and the diurnal, seasonal, solar cycle variations of the plasmapause are investigated based on this database. It is found that the plasmapause shrinks toward the Earth globally and a clear bulge appears in the afternoon to premidnight MLT sector as the solar wind or geomagnetic conditions change from quiet to disturbed. The bulge is clearer during storm times or southward interplanetary magnetic field. The diurnal variations of the plasmapause are most probably the result of the difference between the magnetic dipole tilt and the Earth's spin axis. The seasonal variations of the plasmapause are characterized by equinox valleys and solstice peaks. It is also found that the plasmapause approaches the Earth during high solar activity and expands outward during low solar activity. This database will help us study and understand the evolution properties of the plasmapause shape and the interaction processes of the plasmasphere, the ring current, and the radiation belts in the magnetosphere.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new solar wind‐driven global dynamic plasmapause model: 1. Database and statistics

Zhang

Ruan

et al. 2017

JGR Space Physics

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“…Well-known plasmaspheric phenomena, corotation and erosion events, were also observed by TEX in quiet and disturbed periods, respectively Yoshikawa et al, 2010]. Recently, a new Moon-based camera, extreme ultraviolet camera (EUVC) on board the lunar lander in the Chang'E-3 mission, successfully took global images of the plasmasphere from the meridian perspective on the lunar surface [He et al, 2016;Yan et al, 2016]. Recently, a new Moon-based camera, extreme ultraviolet camera (EUVC) on board the lunar lander in the Chang'E-3 mission, successfully took global images of the plasmasphere from the meridian perspective on the lunar surface [He et al, 2016;Yan et al, 2016].…”

Section: Murakami Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

The plasmapause formation seen from meridian perspective by KAGUYA

et al. 2016

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Observations by the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imager on board the IMAGE spacecraft revealed that the formation of a sharp plasmapause occurs in the postmidnight sector soon (<1 h) after the convection enhancement. These results cannot be explained simply by the conventional theory of the plasmapause formation that the plasmapause coincides with the last closed equipotential of the convection electric field superposed on the Earth's corotation electric field. However, due to the limitation that the EUV imager provides information on only the azimuthal distribution of the plasmapause, the formation mechanism still remains an open issue. Now global images of the plasmasphere from meridian perspective become available, thanks to the telescope of extreme ultraviolet (TEX) instrument on board the KAGUYA spacecraft. Here we studied the plasmapause formation mechanism by analyzing the sequential TEX images of an erosion event during the geomagnetic disturbance (Kp = 5) on 1–2 May 2008. The temporal evolution of the plasmapause locations at postmidnight observed by TEX agreed with those predicted by the dynamic simulations based on the interchange mechanism. Furthermore, the He+ column density in the nightside plasmasphere decreased by ~30% only at the low latitudes (<20°) during the enhanced convection period. This suggests that the plasmapause formation occurs first near the equatorial region during a geomagnetic disturbance, and it agrees with the plasmapause formation mechanism based on the interchange instability. Although we cannot conclude exclusively for the interchange mechanism, this is the first study to present the plasmapause formation viewed from the meridian perspective.

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“…During disturbed times, however, the variations of the SW‐IMF and the geomagnetic conditions are so complicated that one cannot clearly distinguish which physical process (external or internal) contributes more to the dynamics of the plasmasphere. It is also known that the plasmapause can move toward the Earth during substorm times and substorms may play an important role in the plasmaspheric dynamics (Kwon et al, 2015; He F et al, 2016). On the other hand, the evolutions of the plasmaspheric structures under quiet SW‐IMF and/or geomagnetic conditions have not been fully understood yet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A big collection of global images obtained from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager (SSUSI) (Paxton et al, 1992) can be used to study the auroral substorm activities. Additionally, the Chang'e‐3 (CE‐3) Extreme Ultraviolet Camera (EUVC) landed on the lunar surface is used to image the global plasmasphere at 30.4 nm from side perspectives with a field of view of 15°, an angular resolution of 0.1° and a temporal resolution of 10 min (Chen B et al, 2014; Feng JQ et al, 2014; Yan Y et al, 2016; He F et al, 2016), and provides us an opportunity to study the global plasmaspheric evolutions during substorms. In this investigation, EUVC and SSUSI data obtained under relatively weak and steady SW‐IMF conditions on 21 February and 21 April 2014 will be used to study the relationships between global plasmaspheric evolution and the substorm activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlations between plasmapause evolutions and auroral signatures during substorms observed by Chang’e-3 EUV Camera

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2017

Earth and Planetary Physics

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The plasmapause locations determined from the Chang'e‐3 (CE‐3) Extreme Ultraviolet Camera (EUVC) images and the auroral boundaries determined from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager (SSUSI) images are used to investigate the plasmaspheric evolutions during substorms. The most important finding is a nightside pointing plasmaspheric plume observed at 23:05 UT on 21 April 2014 under quiet solar wind and geomagnetic conditions, which drifted from the dusk sector. High correlations between the plasmapause evolutions and the auroral signatures exist during substorms. After substorm onset, the plasmapause erosion and the equatorward expansion of the auroral oval occur almost simultaneously in both MLT and UT, and then both the erosion and the expansion propagate westward and eastward. It is suggested that the plasmaspheric erosion and its MLT propagations are induced by the enhanced earthward plasma convection during substorm period, and the substorm dipolarization causes pitch‐angle scattering of plasma sheet electrons and the resulting precipitation excites aurora emissions at the same time.

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Determination of the Earth's plasmapause location from the CE‐3 EUVC images

Cited by 20 publications

References 65 publications

A new solar wind‐driven global dynamic plasmapause model: 1. Database and statistics

A new solar wind‐driven global dynamic plasmapause model: 1. Database and statistics

The plasmapause formation seen from meridian perspective by KAGUYA

Correlations between plasmapause evolutions and auroral signatures during substorms observed by Chang’e-3 EUV Camera

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