SM21C-05
Effects of solar wind and IMF on BBFs in high-resolution LFM simulations of the magnetotail
Tuesday, 15 December 2015: 08:57
2018 (Moscone West)
Michael James Wiltberger, National Center for Atmospheric Research, High Altitude Observatory, Boulder, CO, United States, Kevin H Pham, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, United States, Viacheslav G Merkin, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States, John Lyon, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States and Shinichi Ohtani, Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Laurel, MD, United States
Abstract:
Recent high-resolution LFM simulations for southward IMF have shown strong agreement between the high speed flows see in the simulations and observations. This agreement includes comparison of structures seen in the passage of a simulated BBF with observations made by the THEMSIS mission. A superposed epoch analysis of the high-speed flows seen in the simulation using the same selection criteria used to analyze Geotail observations found excellent agreement in structure of the flow profile, dipolarization of the field, and reduction of the density after BBF passage. In this work we extend the analysis of BBFs in LFM simulations to include a range of solar wind conditions and IMF directions. We begin by holding the solar wind speed constant and vary the IMF direction from northward to southward in 30-degree steps. We then hold the IMF constant in its southward IMF direction and vary the solar wind speed from 200 to 800 km/s. In the final set of experiments we leave the IMF southward, hold the speed constant, and vary the strength of IMF between 2.5 and 10 nT. We will report on the differences these conditions and statistical nature of the BBFs seen in the simulation using the same superposed epoch analysis tools developed for the southward IMF results previously analyzed. This analysis will include comparison of the features at lunar distances with those closer to the Earth. In addition, we will examine the distribution of the BBFs in the simulation as function of the solar wind and IMF parameters.
