Paper#: 105
Poster #:
Session Name: Workshop 3B: M/I Coupling
Room: West Ballroom
Day: Tuesday
Time: 4:30-4:55 p.m.
Abstract Title: Examining the Relative Roles of Convective and Inductive Electric Fields in Allowing Plasma Sheet Access to the Inner Magnetosphere
PresentSurname: Liemohn, M. W.
All Authors: M. W. Liemohn, J. U. Kozyra, C. R. Clauer
Abstract : Ring current simulation results are analyzed to examine the amount of access of plasma sheet ions to the inner magnetosphere. Percentages are calculated of the contribution to Dst as a function of magnetic moment. During the main phase of storms, most of the ring current is partial, with the ions making a single pass through near-Earth space. Therefore, most of the ions for a given magnetic moment became a part of the ring current via injection by a convective (cross-tail) or inductive (substorm) electric field. A superposed epoch analysis of these percentages yields a description of what moments contribute the most at each phase of a magnetic storm. By further parsing the percentage into the amount inside and outside of the Alfven boundary (as defined by the convective electric field), the contribution to Dst from particles on open and closed drift paths can be found. Inductive electric fields can drive ions inside of the standard Alfven boundary, and therefore anamolously increase the symmetric ring current (above convective access limits). These results are compared against ground-based magnetometer observations of the symmetric and partial ring current to investigate the relative importance of inductive to convective access to the inner magnetosphere. It is concluded that, in general, inductive access does not significantly add to the symmetric ring current during storm main phases; its influence is largely confined to enhancements outside of the convective Alfven boundary.