Comparison of Multi-fluid Lyon Fedder Mobarry global magnetosphere simulations with observations

Michael James Wiltberger1, Oliver Brambles2, Binzheng Zhang3, William Lotko4, John Lyon5, Viacheslav G Merkin6, Roger H Varney1 and Jeremy Ouellette3, (1)National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, United States, (2)Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover, United States, (3)Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover, NH, United States, (4)Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover, NH, United States, (5)Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States, (6)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States
Abstract:
Outflow of plasma from ionosphere into the magnetosphere has been simulated using the Multi-fluid Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (MFLFM) global simulation. These simulations have been conducted for two classes of ionospheric outflow. In the first, the location and intensity is specified at the inner boundary and held fixed for the duration of the simulation interval. In the second, empirical relationships between parameters such as AC Poynting flux and auroral electron energy flux are used to dynamically regulate the location and intensity of the ionospheric outflow. The idealized simulation results can be compared statistically with observations from a variety of ground and space based observations. The results from events driven by CMEs and CIRs in the solar wind can be compared with measures of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, i.e. cross polar cap potential, as well as satellite measurements of plasma flow and composition. In addition, simulations with plasmasphere population have been conducted and we examine how this species affects the evolution of the magnetosphere and compare its structure with observations.
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