Stormtime coupling of the ring current, plasmasphere, and topside ionosphere: Electromagnetic and plasma disturbances

Abstract

[1] We compare plasma and field disturbances observed in the ring current/plasmasphere overlap region and in the conjugate ionosphere during the magnetic storm of 5 June 1991. Data come from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) flying in a geostationary transfer orbit and three satellites of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) series in Sun-synchronous polar orbits. In the region between ring current nose structures and the electron plasma sheet, CRRES detected wave-like features in local electric and magnetic fields, embedded in structured cold plasmas. Mapped to the ionosphere, these fields should reflect structuring within subauroral plasma streams (SAPS). Indeed, during the period of interest, DMSP F8, F9, and F10 satellites observed highly structured SAPS in the evening ionosphere at topside altitudes. They were collocated with precipitating ring current ions, enhanced fluxes of suprathermal electrons and ions, elevated electron temperatures, and irregular plasma density troughs. Overall, these events are similar to electromagnetic structures observed by DMSP satellites within SAPS during recent geomagnetic storms (Mishin et al., , 2004. Their features can be explained in terms of Alfvén and fast magnetosonic perturbations. We developed a scenario for the formation of elevated electron temperatures at the equatorward side of the SAPS. It includes a lower-hybrid drift instability driven by diamagnetic currents, consistent with strong lower-and upper-hybrid plasma wave activity and intense fluxes of the low-energy electrons and ions near the ring current's inner edge.Citation: Mishin, E. V., and W. J. Burke (2005), Stormtime coupling of the ring current, plasmasphere, and topside ionosphere: Electromagnetic and plasma disturbances,

Space Weather Effects Produced by the Ring Current Particles

“…showed that they were directly linked to the partial ring current localized pressure peak, and other observations and numerical modeling has confirmed and further quantified this relationship (e.g. Garner et al 2004;Mishin and Burke 2005;Yu et al 2015;Yuan et al 2016;Califf et al 2016). SAPS are relatively stable during storms, being a persistent feature across the evening sector that can last for many hours (e.g.…”

Eastward sub-auroral ion drifts or ASAID

“…The upward ion flow could be explained as a consequence of temperature gradients induced by frictional heating of ions at lower altitudes, from where, unfortunately, observational data are not available. It is generally accepted that high electron temperatures in the topside ionosphere are the result of downward transport of heat generated inside the inner magnetosphere due to Coulomb collisions between ring current ions and plasmaspheric particles (Mishin and Burke, 2005;Wang et al, 2006). According to Wang et al (2006) and Prölss (2006) the equatorward edge of the electron temperature gradient indicates the location of the equatorward edge of the ring current.…”

Crucial role of ring current H+ in electromagnetic ion cyclotron wave dispersion relation: Results from global simulations

“…The Earth's magnetic field should be slightly disturbed in the inner magnetosphere during this moderate storm [Tsyganenko et al, 2003]. We take into account the large-scale convection electric field in this study but ignore the substorm-associated field [e.g., Ganushkina et al, 2005;Goldstein et al, 2005;Mishin and Mishin, 2007;Mishin and Burke, 2005]. An effect of this substorm-associated impulsive electric field in the plasma energization, transport, and wave generation will be considered separately in the future publications.…”