A study of the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes

Abstract

Magnetosphere-ionosphere (M-I) coupling processes are studied by using numerical modeling. An M-I coupling model of substorms on the ionospheric recombination time scale (tens of seconds) is developed. The model is two-dimensional (2-D) and time-dependent from which several signatures of substorms can be obtained and understood. The model is then extended to northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions to study the effects of the M-I coupling on the high-latitude convection. Based on the model results, a mechanism for the origin of distorted two-cell ionospheric convection is proposed. The ionospheric and ground signatures of multiple field-aligned current sheets originating from dayside flux transfer events have been modeled. The interaction between Alfven waves and field aligned potential drops is studied by using a local model.