DOI

  • V. A. Sergeev
  • J. A. Sauvaud
  • D. Popescu
  • R. A. Kovrazhkin
  • K. Liou
  • P. T. Newell
  • M. Brittnacher
  • G. Parks
  • R. Nakamura
  • T. Mukai
  • G. D. Reeves

We use observations from five magnetospheric spacecraft in a fortuitous constellation to show that narrow transient plasma flow jets of considerable length formed in the tail can intrude into the inner magnetosphere and provide considerable contribution to the total plasma transport. A specific auroral structure, the auroral streamer, accompanied the development of this narrow plasma jet. These observations support the 'boiling' plasma sheet model consisting of localized underpopulated plasma tubes (bubbles) moving Earthward at high speeds as a realistic way to resolve the 'convection crisis' and to close the global magnetospheric circulation pattern.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)851-854
Number of pages4
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume27
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Mar 2000

    Research areas

  • BURSTY BULK FLOWS, HIGH-SPEED FLOWS, CONVECTION, MAGNETOTAIL

    Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)

ID: 36631418