NEW EVIDENCE FOR OZONE DEPLETION IN THE UPPER-STRATOSPHERE

We highlight one result of a time-dependent analysis of reconnection a t the terrestrial magnetopause, namely, that the Petschek-type reconne ction process is inevitably accompanied by the generation of surface w aves. These waves propagate along the magnetopause at a speed which is generally different from that of the shocks and discontinuities bound ing the region of heated and accelerated plasma, the so-called outflow region of reconnected plasma. The surface waves play a central role i n the reconnection process because it is through them that the perturb ations of the magnetic field and velocity normal to the magnetopause a re transmitted along the current sheet from the source region to the s ystem at large. Since reconnection acts as a source of surface waves, the present general view that transient phenomena at the magnetopause are due either to surface waves (generated by, for example, variations in the solar wind) or to transient reconnection should be revised in the interests of a more unified treatment.