Variability of the ring current source population

The relationship between the strength of the storm‐time ring current and the available density in the presumed source region, the plasma sheet, is examined for 23 storms with Dst* (minimum Dst corrected for magnetopause currents) ranging from ‐50 to ‐164 nT. A good correlation is found between the p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 1998-09, Vol.25 (18), p.3481-3484
Main Authors: Thomsen, M. F., Borovsky, J. E., McComas, D. J., Collier, M. R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
External geophysics
Physics of the magnetosphere
Trapped particles
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Summary:The relationship between the strength of the storm‐time ring current and the available density in the presumed source region, the plasma sheet, is examined for 23 storms with Dst* (minimum Dst corrected for magnetopause currents) ranging from ‐50 to ‐164 nT. A good correlation is found between the plasma‐sheet density at geosynchronous orbit and the minimum Dst*. The minimum Dst* is also well correlated with the eastward interplanetary electric field measured upstream by the Wind spacecraft, in agreement with previous studies, but the dependence of Dst* on plasma‐sheet density is unrelated to its dependence on the electric field. The best correlation is between the minimum Dst* and the product of the plasma‐sheet density and the eastward interplanetary electric field. These results are consistent with a scenario in which the intensity of the storm‐time ring current is determined by a combination of source strength (plasma‐sheet density) and injection strength (interplanetary electric field).
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/98GL02633