The relation among the ring current, subauroral polarization stream, and
the geospace plume: MAGE Simulation of the March 31 2001 Super Storm
Abstract
The geospace plume, referring to the combined processes of the
plasmaspheric and the ionospheric storm-enhanced density (SED)/total
electron content (TEC) plumes, is one of the unique features of
geomagnetic storms. The apparent spatial overlap and joint temporal
evolution between the plasmaspheric plume and the equatorial mapping of
the SED/TEC plume indicate strong magnetospheric-ionospheric coupling.
However, a systematic modeling study of the factors contributing to
geospace plume development has not yet been performed due to the lack of
a sufficiently comprehensive model including all the relevant physical
processes. In this paper, we present a numerical simulation of the
geospace plume in the March 31, 2001 storm using the Multiscale
Atmosphere Geospace Environment model. The simulation reproduces the
observed linkage of the two plumes, which, we interpret as a result of
both being driven by the electric field that maps between the
magnetosphere and the ionosphere. The model predicts two velocity
channels of sunward plasma drift at different latitudes in the dusk
sector during the storm main phase, which are identified as the
sub-auroral polarization stream (SAPS) and the convection return flow,
respectively. The SAPS is responsible for the erosion of the
plasmasphere plume and contributes to the ionospheric TEC depletion in
the midlatitude trough region. We further find the spatial distributions
of the magnetospheric ring current ions and electrons, determined by a
delicate balance of the energy-dependent gradient/curvature drifts and
the E´B drifts, are crucial to sustain the SAPS electric field that
shapes the geospace plume throughout the storm main phase.