Quadrennial review of the magnetotail

Technical Report · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 UTC 1987

OSTI ID:6363781

Huang, C Y

There has been a great deal of interest in the magnetotail during the past quadrennial period. This has been in part due to the passage of ISEE 3 through the distant magnetotail. The investigation of the region from 60 to 220 RE from the earth has contributed much to our understanding of tail structure and dynamical response to geomagnetic activity. As always the question of substorms and the nature of energy transfer is a focus for many publications. At the same time the region earthward of 35 RE was thoroughly investigated, using observations gained by the ISEE 1 and 2, and IMP 8 spacecraft. Case studies of selected events and statistical analyses were carried out. Multi-spacecraft correlations using low altitude or geosynchronous satellite data, simultaneously sampled with magnetotail observations, attempt to separate temporal from spatial variations, and thus provide a global description of the energy-transfer process. In this respect the global imaging provided by the Dynamics Explorer 1 satellite will doubtless be a powerful tool in future studies. Currently, a workshop (CDAW 8) utilizing imaging, solar wind, and tail observations is being planned.

• Research Organization: Iowa Univ., Iowa City (USA). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
• OSTI ID: 6363781
• Report Number(s): AD-A-182190/9/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
DISTRIBUTION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ENERGY TRANSFER
IMAGES
MAGNETIC STORMS
MAGNETOTAIL
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION