Abstract
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 111,
A11S09,
15 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2006JA011621
Source location of the wedge-like dispersed ring current in the morning sector during a substorm
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna, Sweden
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA
National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan
Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna, Sweden
Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Kiruna, Sweden
Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France
European Space Research and Technology Centre, European Space Agency, Noorwijk, Netherlands
Alfvén Laboratory, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London, UK
Max-Planck Institut fuer Sonnensystemforschung, Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
Source of wedge-like dispersed sub-keV ring current ions (wedge-like structure) is investigated using Cluster CIS data. Statistics from nearly 550 traversals show that the wedge-like structure with upper energy extending to ordinary energy of ring current is found mostly in the morning sector whereas those limited within sub-keV range are found mostly in the noon-to-afternoon sector. The former is most likely the original form of the latter. With this knowledge, the Cluster traversal on 21 October 2001 turned out to be a unique observation that reveals the formation of the wedge-like structure. Spacecraft 1 and 4 detected a wedge-like structure of 0.1 ∼ 10 keV protons at 2350 UT, while spacecraft 3 did not detect it 10 min before in the same magnetic flux tube. With the observed electric field of less than 3 mV/m, this fact indicates that the dispersion started within half an hour. Pitch angle distributions of the wedge-like structure is in most cases double conic-like butterfly distributions, but the wedge-like dispersed oxygen ions during the 21 October 2001 event flow mainly from one direction (from Northern Hemisphere) without a loss cone. With its characteristic energy of 0.05 ∼ 0.3 keV, these oxygen ions originate from the Northern Hemisphere about 20 ∼ 30 min before the observation. Both the dispersion analysis and the oxygen ion tracing suggest that the observed wedge-like structure is formed in the late morning sector during the latest substorm that started at 2310 UT. Possible mechanisms of the morning source are discussed.
Received 17 January 2006; accepted 11 August 2006; published 16 November 2006.
Citation: (2006), Source location of the wedge-like dispersed ring current in the morning sector during a substorm, J. Geophys. Res., 111, A11S09, doi:10.1029/2006JA011621.
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