The solar wind and magnetospheric dynamicsThe dynamic processes involved in the interaction between the solar wind and the earth's magnetosphere are reviewed. The evolution of models of the magnetosphere is first surveyed. The existence of the auroral substorm and the cyclical polar magnetic substorm is evidence that the magnetosphere is a dynamic system. The dynamic changes occurring in the magnetosphere, including erosion of the magnetopause, changes in the size of the polar cap, variations in the flaring angle of the tail, neutral point formation, plasma sheet motions, and the inward collapse of the midnight magnetosphere, are discussed. The cyclical variations of geomagnetic activity are explained in terms of the control of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction by the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field. Present phenomenological models allow prediction of geomagnetic activity from interplanetary measurements, but modeling of detailed magnetospheric processes is still in its infancy.
Document ID
19750035055
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Russell, C. T. (California, University Los Angeles, Calif., United States)
Date Acquired
August 8, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1974
Subject Category
Geophysics
Meeting Information
Meeting: Correlated interplanetary and magnetospheric observations; Seventh ESLAB Symposium