loading page

Solar Wind Control of Hemispherically-Integrated Field-Aligned Currents at Earth
  • +1
  • Amy L Fleetham,
  • Stephen E. Milan,
  • Suzanne Mary Imber,
  • Sarah Kimberly Vines
Amy L Fleetham
University of Leicester

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Stephen E. Milan
University of Leicester
Author Profile
Suzanne Mary Imber
University of Leicester
Author Profile
Sarah Kimberly Vines
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Author Profile

Abstract

Magnetic reconnection occurring between the interplanetary magnetic field and the dayside magnetopause causes a circulation of magnetic flux and plasma within the magnetosphere, known as the Dungey cycle. This circulation is transmitted to the ionosphere via field-aligned currents (FACs). The magnetic flux transport within the Dungey cycle is quantified by the cross-polar cap potential (CPCP or transpolar voltage). Previous studies have suggested that under strong driving conditions the CPCP can saturate near a value of 250 kV. In this study we investigate whether an analogous saturation occurs in the magnitudes of the FACs, using observations from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE). The solar wind speed, density and pressure, the Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field, and combinations of these, were compared to the concurrent integrated current magnitude, across each hemisphere. We find that FAC magnitudes are controlled most strongly by solar wind speed and the orientation and strength of the interplanetary magnetic field. FAC magnitude increases monotonically with solar wind driving but there is a distinct knee in the variation around IMF Bz = -10 nT, above which the increase slows.
04 Apr 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
11 Apr 2023Published in ESS Open Archive