Erosion of the plasmasphere during a storm
Abstract
The erosion of the plasmasphere during a storm is analyzed using the Naval Research Laboratory Sami3 is Also a Model of the Ionosphere ionosphere/plasmasphere code, coupled to the Rice Convection Model of the inner magnetosphere and ring current. We reproduce the commonly observed poststorm plasmasphere profile, with strong erosion outside of a sharp, poststorm plasmapause, and weak erosion inside the plasmapause. We find that inclusion of the ring current E field sharpens the poststorm plasmapause. In the case of a weak storm, erosion inside the poststorm plasmapause might not occur. In all cases, plasma flows are dominated by E × B drifts. For strong storms, we find that erosion, both inside and outside of the poststorm plasmapause, is caused by outward E × B drifts.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1002/2017ja024450
Entities
People
- J. D. Huba
- J. Krall
- Stanislav Sazykin
Organizations
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Rice University
- United States Naval Research Laboratory