HR: 0800h
AN: SA21A-0297 [Abstracts]
TI: Plasma sheet parameters and their statistical relationship to ring current injections
AU: * Lemon, C L
EM: colby@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, 2350 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245-4691
United States
AU: O'Brien, P
EM: paul.obrien@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, 2350 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245-4691
United States
AU: Wolf, R
EM: rawolf@rice.edu
AF: Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005
United States
AU: Hill, T
EM: hill@rice.edu
AF: Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005
United States
AU: Toffoletto, F
EM: toffo@rice.edu
AF: Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX 77005
United States
AB:
We are interested in understanding the physical process in the plasma sheet and inner magnetosphere during magnetic storms
that differentiates ring current injection intervals from non-injection intervals. We contrast plasma sheet plasma
parameters during injection intervals to parameters during similar non-injection intervals. Looking at the temperature,
density, and pressure alone is misleading, since variations in these quantities may be due to variations in the level of
magnetic stretching, which would adiabatically alter the plasma moments and/or cause apparent variations due to changes in
magnetic field mapping. In order to best account for these, we use a Tsyganenko magnetic field model to estimate the effect
of the magnetic field, and calculate adiabatically invariant quantities to represent the pressure, temperature, and density.
The results of the study seem to show that the invariant pressure and invariant density are lower than usual during ring
current injection intervals, while the invariant temperature is apparently not significantly different. The implications and
physical interpretations of the results as they relate to magnetic storms will be explored.
DE: 2730 Magnetosphere: inner
DE: 2740 Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics
DE: 2764 Plasma sheet
DE: 2778 Ring current
DE: 2788 Magnetic storms and substorms (7954)
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005