Strong & Super Magnetospheric Substorms as triggered by Interplanetary Shock Impact

Abstract:

It is well known that the interaction between interplanetary shocks and the Earth's magnetosphere would generate/excite various types of geomagnetic phenomena. Progresses have been made on the Earth's magnetosperhic response to solar wind forcing in recent years in the aspects associated with magnetospheric substorms. Strong substorms and supersubstrms are usually triggered externally by sudden changes of solar wind dynamic pressures. When a strong substorms (AE >1000nT) or supersubstrms (AE >2000nT) occurs, singly charged oxygen ions escaped from the Earth’s ionosphere are found to be a dominated ion population in the magnetotail and in the inner magnetosphere—ring current region. The products of a strong substorms or supersubstrms- plasmoid, burst bulk flows are also found to contain significant oxygen ions, even substorm injections can be dominated by oxygen ions. Thus, the magnetospheric dynamic must consider the contributions from the heavy oxygen ions. Also, a supersubstorm associated electromagnetic pulses (dB/dt) would shift the energetic particle (injections) inward and accelerate existing population significantly.