Mapping Bursty Bulk Flows Current to the Ionosphere using OpenGGCM--‐CTIM Model
Thursday, 26 May 2016
Banafsheh Ferdousi and Joachim Raeder, University of New Hampshire Main Campus, Durham, NH, United States
Abstract:
Bursty bulk flows (BBFs) are important part of magnetotail dynamics as they transfer 60 − 100% of energy, mass and magnetic flux in the magnetosphere. BBFs are interpreted as plasma bubbles, magnetic flux tubes with low entropy content in comparison to the surrounding field, observed during both disturbed and quiet time in the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) as well as center plasma sheet. Another important aspect of BBFs is that they are associated with field-aligned current (FAC) similar to substorm current wedge (SCW). Such currents are along the outer edge of the bubble which can be mapped to the ionosphere. In this study, we use global numerical MHD model of the Earth, OpenGGCM-CTIM model, to map BBF’s FAC to the ionosphere.
