TY - JOUR

T1 - Modulation of the substorm current wedge by bursty bulk flows: 8 September 2002-Revisited

AU - Palin, L.

AU - Opgenoorth, H.J.

AU - gren, K.

AU - Zivkovic, T.

AU - Sergeev, V.A.

AU - Kubyshkina, M.V.

AU - Nikolaev, A.

AU - Kauristie, K.

AU - van de Kamp, M.

AU - Amm, O.

AU - Milan, S.E.

AU - Imber, S.M.

AU - Facskó, G.

AU - Palmroth, M.

AU - Nakamura, R.

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - © 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.The ultimate formation mechanism of the substorm current wedge (SCW) remains to date unclear. In this study, we investigate its relationship to plasma flows at substorm onset and throughout the following expansion phase. We revisit the case of 8 September 2002, which has been defined as "one of the best textbook examples of a substorm" because of its excellent coverage by both spacecraft in the magnetotail and ground-based observatories. We found that a dense sequence of arrival of nightside flux transfer events (NFTEs; which can be understood as the lobe magnetic signature due to a bursty bulk flow travelling earthward in the central plasma sheet) in the near-Earth tail leads to a modulation (and further step-like builtup) of the SCW intensity during the substorm expansion phase. In addition, we found that small SCWs are created also during the growth phase of the event in association with another less intense sequence of NFTEs. The differences between

AB - © 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.The ultimate formation mechanism of the substorm current wedge (SCW) remains to date unclear. In this study, we investigate its relationship to plasma flows at substorm onset and throughout the following expansion phase. We revisit the case of 8 September 2002, which has been defined as "one of the best textbook examples of a substorm" because of its excellent coverage by both spacecraft in the magnetotail and ground-based observatories. We found that a dense sequence of arrival of nightside flux transfer events (NFTEs; which can be understood as the lobe magnetic signature due to a bursty bulk flow travelling earthward in the central plasma sheet) in the near-Earth tail leads to a modulation (and further step-like builtup) of the SCW intensity during the substorm expansion phase. In addition, we found that small SCWs are created also during the growth phase of the event in association with another less intense sequence of NFTEs. The differences between

U2 - 10.1002/2015JA022262

DO - 10.1002/2015JA022262

M3 - Article

SP - 4466

EP - 4482

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

SN - 0148-0227

ER -