How the magnetopause transition parameter works

Lockwood, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7397-2172 and Hapgood, M. A. (1997) How the magnetopause transition parameter works. Geophysical Research Letters, 24 (4). pp. 373-376. ISSN 00948276 doi: 10.1029/97GL00120

Abstract/Summary

The transition parameter is based on the electron characteristics close to the Earth's dayside magnetopause, but reveals systematic ordering of other, independent, data such as the ion flow, density and temperature and the rientation and strength of the magnetic field. Potentially, therefore, it is a very useful tool for resolving ambiguities in a sequence of satellite data caused by the effects of structure and motion of the boundary; however, its application has been limited because there has been no clear understanding of how it works. We present an analysis of data from the AMPTE-UKS satellite which shows that the transition parameter orders magnetopause data because magnetic reconnection generates newly-opened field lines which coat the boundary: a direct relationship is found with the time elapsed since the boundary-layer field line was opened. A simple model is used to reproduce this behaviour.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/38779
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item