Plasmasphere Refilling After Geomagnetic Storms Observed by EMMA Magnetometer Network

Abstract:

We present the results of a study of plasmasphere dynamics during a few geomagnetic storms through examination of radial profiles of the equatorial plasma mass density. The plasma mass density is derived from field line resonance (FLR) frequencies observations across EMMA, a meridional network of 25 magnetometer stations extending from Central Italy to North Finland (1.5 < L < 6.5). The study focuses on plasmaspheric refilling following depletion due to geomagnetic activity. From the time variation of the equatorial plasma mass density we derived daytime refilling rates and the corresponding upward plasma fluxes from the ionosphere for different L-values. Daily averaged refilling rates occurring during the recovery phase have been also investigated.