Electric Currents at the Magnetospheric Boundary Regions

Abstract:

We investigate the electric currents at the outer boundary regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere. In this study we apply the curlometer technique to the Cluster observations and determine the magnitude and direction of the electric currents at the dayside magnetospheric boundary regions. In particular we investigate the cases where the current layers are crossed several times during oscillating magnetopause which allows us to determine the electric current vector during inward and outward moving magnetopause. Typical current densities observed vary between 10-100 nA/m².