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Abstract We investigate the applicability and performance of the plasma physics based WINDMI model to the analysis and identification of substorm onsets. There are several substorm onset criteria that have been developed into event lists, either from auroral observations or from auroral electrojet features. Five of these substorm onset lists are available at the SuperMAG website. We analyze these lists, aggregate them and use the WINDMI model to assess the identified events, emphasizing the loading/unloading mechanism in substorm dynamics. The WINDMI model employs eight differential equations utilizing solar wind data measured at L1 by the ACE satellite as input to generate outputs such as the magnetotail current, the ring current and the field‐aligned currents (FACs). In particular, the WINDMI model current output represents the westward auroral electrojet, which is related to the substorm SML index. We analyze a decade of solar wind and substorm onset data from 1998 to 2007, encompassing 39,863 onsets. Our findings reveal a significant correlation, with WINDMI‐derived enhancements in FAC coinciding with the identified substorm events approximately 32% of the time. This suggests that a substantial proportion of substorms may be attributed to solar wind driving that results in the loading and unloading of energy in the magnetotail.
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Global Energy Dynamics During Substorms on 9 March 2008 and 26 February 2008 Using Satellite Observations and the WINDMI Model
Abstract We analyze three substorms that occur on (1) 9 March 2008 05:14 UT, (2) 26 February 2008 04:05 UT, and (3) 26 February 2008 04:55 UT. Using ACE solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic fieldBzvalues, we calculate the rectified (southwardBz) solar wind voltage propagated to the magnetosphere. The solar wind conditions for the two events were vastly different, 300 kV for 9 March 2008 substorm, compared to 50 kV for 26 February 2008. The voltage is input to a nonlinear physics‐based model of the magnetosphere called WINDMI. The output is the westward auroral electrojet current which is proportional to the auroral electrojet (AL) index from World Data Center for Geomagnetism Kyoto and the SuperMAG auroral electrojet index (SML). Substorm onset times are obtained from the superMAG substorm database, Pu et al. (2010,https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014217), Lui (2011,https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JA016078) and synchronized to Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms satellite data. The timing of onset, model parameters, and intermediate state space variables are analyzed. The model onsets occurred about 5 to 10 min earlier than the reported onsets. Onsets occurred when the geotail current in the WINDMI model reached a critical threshold of 6.2 MA for the 9 March 2008 event, while, in contrast, a critical threshold of 2.1 MA was obtained for the two 26 February 2008 events. The model estimates 1.99 PJ of total energy transfer during the 9 March 2008 event, with 0.95 PJ deposited in the ionosphere. The smaller events on 26 February 2008 resulted in a total energy transfer of 0.37 PJ according to the model, with 0.095 PJ deposited in the ionosphere.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1655280
- PAR ID:
- 10453818
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
- Volume:
- 124
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2169-9380
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1698-1710
- Size(s):
- p. 1698-1710
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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