Study of plasma pressure distribution in the magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that the study of total pressure balance in the magnetosphere could be very important for space weather forecasts, since there are enough evidences that suggest that the dynamic pressure in the solar wind (and specially its gradient) could be significant. There are also some results pointing out the increase of plasma pressure in the inner magnetosphere during storms. However, it remains not fully understood how the solar wind dynamic pressure affects the pressure in the magnetosphere. The high altitude satellites like Van Allen Probe provide nice measurements in the inner magnetosphere near to the equatorial plane that can be used for this purpose. Nevertheless, the high orbiting satellites do not allow us to track simultaneously how the plasma pressure changes in different parts of the magnetosphere (MLT dependence) with a good time resolution, allowing to see how the spatial profile of pressure responds to the solar wind driver at different MLT sectors. Such analysis can be done using the polar orbiting satellites like DMSP and NOAA. A combination of high and low orbiting satellite measurements can provide new insides about the variation of plasma pressure in the magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 14, 2022
- Source ID
- FA95501910384
Entities
People
- Marina Stepanova
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Santiago