Sg. Shephard et al., A possible explanation for rapid, large-scale ionospheric responses to southward turnings of the IMF, GEOPHYS R L, 26(20), 1999, pp. 3197-3200
We have examined the dayside high-latitude convection response to a sudden
southward turning of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and found that
the response is nearly instantaneous (<2 min) over a spatial region extend
ing from similar to 75 degrees to 85 degrees and from similar to 9 to 16 ML
T. Observations of the magnetic field were made with the WIND spacecraft in
the solar wind and the GEOTAIL and IMP8 spacecraft in the magnetosheath. I
n the high-latitude ionosphere, the HF radars of the Super Dual Auroral Rad
ar Network (SuperDARN) were used to monitor the convection. Based on the ma
gnetosheath flow of the gas dynamic approximation, the field lines of the n
ew IMF state were draped over a large portion of the dayside magnetopause w
hen the first significant indication of convection response was measured in
the ionosphere. Significant magnetic field line draping accompanied by ext
ended reconnection on the dayside magnetopause may help explain the rapid,
large-scale response of ionospheric convection.