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Development of large-scale Birkeland currents determined from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL059941· OSTI ID:1319155
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [1];  [4]
  1. Johns Hopkins Univ., Laurel, MD (United States)
  2. Univ. of New Castle, New South Wales (Australia)
  3. Univ. of New Castle, New South Wales (Australia); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Johns Hopkins Univ., Laurel, MD (United States); Draper Lab., Cambridge, MA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
The Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment uses magnetic field data from the Iridium constellation to derive the global Birkeland current distribution every 10 min. We examine cases in which the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) rotated from northward to southward resulting in onsets of the Birkeland currents. Dayside Region 1/2 currents, totaling ~25% of the final current, appear within 20 min of the IMF southward turning and remain steady. In the onset of nightside currents occurs 40 to 70 min after the dayside currents appear. Afterwards, the currents intensify at dawn, dusk, and on the dayside, yielding a fully formed Region 1/2 system ~30 min after the nightside onset. Our results imply that the dayside Birkeland currents are driven by magnetopause reconnection, and the remainder of the system forms as magnetospheric return flows start and progress sunward, ultimately closing the Dungey convection cycle.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1319155
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 41; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Relation of Field‐Aligned Currents Measured by the Network of Iridium® Spacecraft to Solar Wind and Substorms journal March 2018
Statistical analysis of MMS observations of energetic electron escape observed at/beyond the dayside magnetopause: STATISTICS OF ENERGETIC ELECTRON ESCAPE journal September 2017
A Comprehensive Analysis of Multiscale Field-Aligned Currents: Characteristics, Controlling Parameters, and Relationships: MULTISCALE FACS journal December 2017
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Overview of Solar Wind–Magnetosphere–Ionosphere–Atmosphere Coupling and the Generation of Magnetospheric Currents book November 2017
Locations Where Space Weather Energy Impacts the Atmosphere book January 2017
Overview of Solar Wind–Magnetosphere–Ionosphere–Atmosphere Coupling and the Generation of Magnetospheric Currents journal February 2017
Locations Where Space Weather Energy Impacts the Atmosphere journal July 2017
Evolution of auroral substorm as viewed from MHD simulations: dynamics, energy transfer and energy conversion journal January 2020
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Statistical Relations Between Field-Aligned Currents and Precipitating Electron Energy Flux journal September 2018
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Timescales of Birkeland Currents Driven by the IMF journal July 2019
Temporal and Spatial Development of Global Birkeland Currents journal June 2018
Timescales of Dayside and Nightside Field-Aligned Current Response to Changes in Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling journal September 2018
Dawnside Wedge Current System Formed During Intense Geomagnetic Storms journal November 2018
Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere Connection of Storm‐Time Region‐2 Field‐Aligned Current and Ring Current: Arase and AMPERE Observations journal November 2018
Substorm Onset Latitude and the Steadiness of Magnetospheric Convection journal March 2019
Carriers of the Field‐Aligned Currents in the Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer: An MMS Multicase Study journal April 2019
Large-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Origin and Propagation: Case Study of the December 2015 Geomagnetic Storm journal September 2018
New Capabilities for Prediction of High-Latitude Ionospheric Scintillation: A Novel Approach With Machine Learning journal November 2018
Space Weather Modeling Capabilities Assessment: Auroral Precipitation and High‐Latitude Ionospheric Electrodynamics journal February 2019
Small Spatial‐Scale Field‐Aligned Currents in the Plasma Sheet Boundary Layer Surveyed by Magnetosphere Multiscale Spacecraft journal December 2019
Analysis of close conjunctions between dayside polar cap airglow patches and flow channels by all-sky imager and DMSP journal September 2016
Substorm Onset Latitude and the Steadiness of Magnetospheric Convection text January 2021
Filamentary field-aligned currents at the polar cap region during northward interplanetary magnetic field derived with the Swarm constellation journal January 2016
Magnetosphere dynamics during the 14 November 2012 storm inferred from TWINS, AMPERE, Van Allen Probes, and BATS-R-US–CRCM journal January 2018
Substorm onset latitude and the steadiness of magnetospheric convection journal May 2020

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