Electrodynamic Context of Magnetotail and Magnetopause Dynamics Observed by Magnetospheric Multiscal

Abstract:

After successful launch and deployment on 14 March 2015, the four Magnetosphere Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft were commissioned during the first local time precession of the orbit line of apsides across the magnetotail from dawn to dusk. Prime science observations began in September 2015 when orbit apogee had moved to the dusk sector at magnetopause distances. Signatures of magnetotail dynamics were observed during payload and fleet commissioning. The electrodynamic context of the magnetotail events at MMS as well as observations at the dusk and afternoon magnetopause is assessed using correlative observations from low Earth orbit and ground-based instruments including the Active Magnetosphere and Polar Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE), SuperMAG, and SuperDARN. Substorm current onsets are prevalent in AMPERE data and are highly correlated with magnetotail injections and dipolarizations observed by MMS. To better constrain how the MMS magnetotail observations are related to global processes, we also examine the occurrence and prevalence of similar ionospheric onset signatures when MMS was at high altitudes in the magnetotail but observed no local signatures of injections or dipolarizations. For MMS magnetopause observations, we explore the relationship of magnetic reconnection signatures at MMS with the convection patterns derived from AMPERE and ionosphere observations to establish the relationship of the local MMS observations and global magnetospheric convective state.