HR: 16:20h
AN: SM24A-01    [Abstracts]
TI: The Role of the Plasmasphere in Solar-Wind/Magnetosphere Coupling
AU: * Borovsky, J E
EM: jborovsky@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mail Stop D466, Los Alamos, nm 87545, United States
AU: Hesse, M
EM: Michael.Hesse@nasa.gov
AF: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 674, Greenbelt, MD 20771, United States
AU: Denton, M H
AF: Lancaster University, Department of Communication Sciences, Lancaster, United Kingdom
AB: Under normal or low levels of geomagnetic activity, outgassing from the dayside ionosphere builds up in the middle magnetosphere to form the high-density, cool plasmasphere. When geomagnetic activity increases, this dense plasma is convected across the dayside magnetosphere where it flows into the dayside reconnection site. Because of its high mass density, this plasma lowers the Alfven velocity at the dayside reconnection site, slowing the flow of plasma and magnetic field lines through the site. This lowers the rate of reconnection between the magnetosphere and the solar wind, reducing the strength of solar-wind/magnetosphere coupling. Theoretical calculations, computer simulations, and statistical evidence of this reduced coupling is presented. Implications for a magnetospheric control of the solar-wind/magnetosphere coupling during special circumstances is discussed.
DE: 2768 Plasmasphere
DE: 2784 Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
DE: 2788 Magnetic storms and substorms (7954)
DE: 7835 Magnetic reconnection (2723, 7526)
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly