Vortex-like plasma flow structures observed by Cluster at the boundary of the outer radiation belt and ring current: A link between the inner and outer magnetosphere

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics

Volumn 114, Issue 10, 2009, Pages

  Zong, Q G ^a,b   Wang, Y F ^a   Yang, B ^a   Zhang, H ^c   Tian, A M ^a   Dunlop, M ^d   Fritz, T A ^e   Kistler, L M ^f   Korth, A ^g   Daly, P W ^g   Pedersen, A ^h  

^a BEIJING UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (China)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL   (United States)

^c NASA GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER   (United States)

^d RUTHERFORD APPLETON LABORATORY   (United Kingdom)

^e Boston University   (United States)

^f UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE   (United States)

^g MAX PLANCK INSTITUT FÜR SONNENSYSTEMFORSCHUNG   (Germany)

^h UNIVERSITY OF OSLO   (Norway)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 72649105127     PISSN: None     EISSN: 21699402     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1029/2009JA014388     Document Type: Article

References (45)

1. Angelopoulos, V., W. Baumjohann, C. F. Kennel, F. V. Coroniti, M. G. Kivelson, R. Pellat, R. J. Walker, H. Lühr, and G. Paschmann (1992), Bursty bulk flows in the inner central plasma sheet, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 4027-4039.
2. Apatenkov, S. V., et al. (2008), Conjugate observation of sharp dynamical boundary in the inner magnetosphere by Cluster and DMSP spacecraft and ground network, Ann. Geophys., 26, 2771-2780.
3. Baumjohann, W., et al. (1990), Characteristics of high-speed ion flows in the plasma sheet, J. Geophys. Res., 95, 3801-3809.
4. Borovsky, J. E., and J. T. Steinberg (2006), The "calm before the storm" in CIR/magnetosphere interactions: Occurrence statistics, solar wind statistics, and magnetospheric preconditioning, J. Geophys. Res., 111, A07S10, doi:10.1029/2005JA011397. (Pubitemid 46140858)
5. Burton, R. K., R. L. McPherron, and C. T. Russell (1975), An empirical relationship between interplanetary conditions and Dst, J. Geophys. Res., 80, 4204-4214.
6. Carpenter, D. L. (1963), Whistler evidence of a "knee" in the magnetospheric ionization density profile, J. Geophys. Res., 68, 1675-1682.
7. Carpenter, D. L., and J. Lemaire (2004), The plasmasphere boundary layer, Ann. Geophys., 22, 4291-4298.
8. Echer, E., A. Korth, Q.-G. Zong, M. Fränz,W. D. Gonzalez, F. L. Guarnieri, S. Y. Fu, and H. Reme (2008), Cluster observations of O+ escape in the magnetotail due to shock compression effects during the initial phase of the magnetic storm on 17 August 2001, J. Geophys. Res., 113, A05209, doi:10.1029/2007JA012624.
9. Escoubet, C. P., R. Schmidt, and M. L. Goldstein (1997), Cluster - Science and mission overview, Space Sci. Rev., 79, 11-32.
10. Fairfield, D. H., A. Otto, T. Mukai, S. Kokubun, R. P. Lepping, J. T. Steinberg, A. J. Lazarus, and T. Yamamoto (2000), Geotail observations of the kelvin-helmholtz instability at the equatorial magnetotail boundary for parallel northward fields, J. Geophys. Res., 105(A9), 21,159-21,173.
11. Fuselier, S. A., H. L. Collin, A. G. Ghielmetti, E. S. Claflin, T. E. Moore, M. R. Collier, H. Frey, and S. B. Mende (2002), Localized ion outflow in response to a solar wind pressure pulse, J. Geophys. Res., 107(A8), 1203, doi:10.1029/2001JA000297.
12. Hasegawa, A. (1979), Generation of field aligned current during substorm, in Dynamics of the Magnetosphere, edited by S.-I. Akasofu, pp. 529-542, D. Reidel, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
13. Hasegawa, H., M. Fujimoto, T.-D. Phan, H. Reme, A. Balogh, M. W. Dunlop, C. Hashimoto, and R. TanDokoro (2004), Transport of solar wind into Earths magnetosphere through rolled-up Kelvin- Helmholtz vortices, Nature, 430, 755-758.
14. Hones, E. W., Jr. (1976), The magnetotail: Its generation and dissipation, in Physics of Solar Planetary Environments, edited by D. J. Williams, pp. 558-571, AGU, Washington, D. C.
15. Hones, E. W., Jr. (1978), Vortices in magnetospheric plasma flow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 5, 1059-1062.
16. Hones, E. W., Jr. (1981), Further determination of the characteristics of magnetospheric plasma vortices with ISEE 1 and 2, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 814-819.
17. Hones, E. W., Jr. (1983), New observations of plasma vortices and insights into their interpretation, Geophys. Res. Lett., 10, 674-677.
18. Imhof, W. L., R. M. Robinson, R. W. Nightingale, E. E. Gaines, and R. R. Vondrak (1993), The outer boundary of the Earths electron radiation belt: Dependence upon L, energy, and equatorial pitch angle, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 5925-5934.
19. Keiling, A., et al. (2009), Substorm current wedge driven by plasma flow vortices: THEMIS observations, J. Geophys. Res., 114, A00C22, doi:10.1029/2009JA014114.
20. Kistler, L. M., et al. (2006), Ion composition and pressure changes in storm time and nonstorm substorms in the vicinity of the near-Earth neutral line, J. Geophys. Res., 111, A11222, doi:10.1029/2006JA011939.
21. Lundin, R., and G. Marklund (1995), Plasma vortex structures and the evolution of the solar system the legacy of Hannes Alfven, Phys. Scr. T, 60, 198-205.
22. Moretto, T., M. Hesse, A. Yahnin, A. Ieda, D. Murr, and J. F. Watermann (2002), Magnetospheric signature of an ionospheric traveling convection vortex event, J. Geophys. Res., 107(A6), 1072, doi:10.1029/2001JA000049.
23. Ohtani, S., H. J. Singer, and T. Mukai (2006), Effects of the fast plasma sheet flow on the geosynchronous magnetic configuration: Geotail and GOES coordinated study, J. Geophys. Res., 111, A01204, doi:10.1029/2005JA011383.
24. Otto, A., and D. H. Fairfield (2000), Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetotail boundary: MHD simulation and comparison with Geotail observations, J. Geophys. Res., 105(A9), 21,175-21,190.
25. Pedersen, A., et al. (2008), Electron density estimations derived from spacecraft potential measurements on Cluster in tenuous plasma regions, J. Geophys. Res., 113, A07S33, doi:10.1029/2007JA012636.
26. Pritchett, P. L., and F. Coroniti (2000), Localized convection flows and field-aligned current generation in a kinetic model of the near-Earth plasma sheet, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27(19), 3161-3164.
27. Rème, H., et al. (2001), First multispacecraft ion measurements in and near the Earths magnetosphere with the identical cluster ion spectrometry (CIS) experiment, Ann. Geophys., 19, 1303-1354.
28. Robert, P., M. W. Dunlop, A. Roux, and G. Chanteur (1998), Accuracy of current determination, in Analysis Methods for Multi-Spacecraft Data, edited by G. Paschmann and P. W. Daly, pp. 395-418, Eur. Space Agency, Bern.
29. Russell, C. T., M. M. Mellot, E. J. Smith, and J. H. King (1983), Multiple spacecraft observations of interplanetary shocks: Four spacecraft determination of the shock normals, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 4739-4748.
30. Sergeev, V. A., et al. (2003), Current sheet flapping motion and structure observed by Cluster, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(6), 1327, doi:10.1029/2002GL016500.
31. Shelley, E. G., R. D. Sharp, and R. G. Johnson (1976), Satellite observations of an ionospheric acceleration mechanism, Geophys. Res. Lett., 3, 654-656.
32. Shiokawa, K., W. Baumjohann, and G. Haerendel (1997), Braking of highspeed flows in the near-Earth tail, Geophys. Res. Lett., 24, 1179-1182.
33. Snekvik, K., et al. (2007), Cluster observations of a field aligned current at the dawn flank of a bursty bulk flow, Ann. Geophys., 25, 1405-1415.
34. Sonnerup, B. U. O., and L. J. Cahill (1967), Magnetopause structure and attitude from Explorer 12 observations, J. Geophys. Res., 72, 171-183.
35. Sonnerup, B. U. O., and M. Scheible (1998), Minimum and maximum variance analysis, in Analysis Methods for Multi-Spacecraft Data, edited by G. Paschmann and P. W. Daly, pp. 185 -220, Eur. Space Agency, Bern.
36. Thompson, S. M., M. G. Kivelson, K. K. Khurana, R. L. McPherron, J. M. Weygand, A. Balogh, H. Reme, and L. M. Kistler (2005), Dynamic Harris current sheet thickness from Cluster current density and plasma measurements, J. Geophys. Res., 110, A02212, doi:10.1029/2004JA010714. (Pubitemid 44235022)
37. Tsurutani, B. T., W. D. Gonzalez, L. C. Gonzalez, F. Tang, J. K. Arballo, and M. Okada (1995), Interplanetary origin of geomagnetic activity in the declining phase of the solar cycle, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 21,717-21,733.
38. Tsyganenko, N. A. (1989), A magnetospheric magnetic field model with a warped tail current sheet, Planet. Space Sci., 37, 5-20.
39. Vallat, C., et al. (2005), First current density measurements in the ring current region using simultaneous multi-spacecraft Cluster-FGM data, Ann. Geophys., 23, 1849-1865.
40. Vallat, C., et al. (2007), Ion multi-nose structures observed by Cluster in the inner magnetosphere, Ann. Geophys., 25, 171-190.
41. Vasyliunas, V. M. (1984), Fundaments of current description, in Magnetospheric Currents, Geophys. Monogr. Ser., vol.28, edited by T. A. Potemra, pp. 63-66, AGU, Washington, D. C.
42. Wilken, B., et al. (2001), First results from the rapid imaging energetic particle spectrometer on board Cluster, Ann. Geophys., 19, 1355-1366.
43. Yau, A. W., P. H. Beckwith, W. K. Peterson, and E. G. Shelley (1985), Long-term (solar cycle) and seasonal variations of upflowing ionospheric ion events at DE-1 altitudes, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 6395-6407.
44. Zong, Q.-G., et al. (1997), Geotail observation of energetic ion specics and magnetic field in plasmoid-like structures in the course of an isolated substorm event, J. Geophys. Res., 102, 11,409-11,428.
45. Zong, Q. G., H. Zhang, S. Y. Fu, Y. F.Wang, Z. Y. Pu, A. Korth, P.W. Daly, and T. A. Fritz (2008), Ionospheric oxygen ions dominant bursty bulk flows: Cluster and Double Star observations, J. Geophys. Res., 113, A07S23, doi:10.1029/2007JA012764.