HR: 12:05h
AN: SH51B-08    [PDF]
TI: MAGNETOTAIL ASSIMILATION MODEL
AU: * Wing, S
EM: simon.wing@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Newell, P
EM: patrick.newell@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Meng, C
EM: ching.meng@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AB: Progress in space plasma physics requires coordinated analysis of multi-point observations and hence, many upcoming ionospheric and magnetospheric missions will consist of multiple spacecraft. With the launch dates of these missions only a few years away, there is an urgent need to develop a method that can assimilate the unprecedentedly large multi-point data sets in coherent and unified manner. We have recently developed a technique that integrates low-altitude ionospheric observations to create 2-D/3-D global images of the plasma sheet ion pressure, temperature, and density. This method relies on the plasma sheet plasma isotropy, which has a strong theoretical foundation as well as overwhelming observational support. Previously developed algorithms are used to detect the plasma isotropy boundary and to detect and exclude acceleration events. The plasma properties obtained with this method compare favorably with previous in situ measurements in the magnetotail. The technique can be refined to include mid-altitude and high-altitude observations. Therefore, it can serve as a foundation for building a model that assimilates multi-point plasma observations from multi-spacecraft missions into globally coherent and unified images of the magnetotail tailward of ~8-10 Re, which is the region that acts as energy and plasma reservoir. The power this method for magnetotail investigations is illustrated in the study of the dynamics and source of the cold dense plasma in the plasma sheet during periods of northward IMF.
DE: 2736 Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions
DE: 2744 Magnetotail
DE: 2748 Magnetotail boundary layers
DE: 2764 Plasma sheet
DE: 2784 Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
SC: SPA - Solar and Heliospheric Physics [SH]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting