VORTICITY IN THE MAGNETOSPHERIC PLASMA AND ITS SIGNATURES IN THE AURORA DYNAMICS

A review of both the theoretical and experimental data connected with the vorticity in the magnetospheric plasma and on its signatures in th e auroral dynamics is presented. It is shown that the observed charact eristics of the motion of auroral forms allow one to determine the dis tribution of the electric field and field-aligned currents in the magn etosphere; the shape of auroral vortices and their power spectra carry information on the nature of the MHD instabilities responsible for th e excitation of the observed turbulence. The complex of experimental d ata necessary for a confident description of the electrodynamic state of the magnetosphere is discussed.