HR: 1340h
AN: SM13B-1209    [Abstracts]
TI: FAST and Cluster observations of the cold, dense plasma sheet.
AU: * McFadden, J P
EM: mcfadden@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory University of California, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, Ca 94720 United States
AU: Carlson, C W
EM: cwc@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: Space Sciences Laboratory University of California, 7 Gauss Way, Berkeley, Ca 94720 United States
AB: The FAST satellite data set has been examined to determine the morphology and formation of a cold, dense plasma sheet (CDPS). Data were examined where the IMF was steady for at least 6 hours (several orbits), where the IMF was northward, and where the FAST orbit was either dawn-dusk or noon-midnight. Several features are observed. Ion spectra in the CDPS often show structure indicating bounce-drift effects similar to that observed at lower latitudes. Although a VDIS signature of lobe reconnection can be observed on the poleward edge of the cusp during some CDPS observations, the VDIS signature often overlaps a higher energy component on the equatorward side, or forms a bowl-shaped signature. On dawn-dusk orbits, the CDPS can be observed to extend to the highest latitudes, although typically some open field lines remain. These data are also compared to several encounters with a CDPS by Cluster. Some of the Cluster events indicate an ionospheric source. Therefore a CDPS may not be just a product of solar wind plasma injections, but may also result from ionospheric outflows.
DE: 7843 Numerical simulation studies
DE: 2724 Magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers
DE: 2740 Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics
DE: 2764 Plasma sheet
DE: 2784 Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting