Magnetopause boundary structure deduced from the high-time resolution particle experiment on the Equator-S spacecraft

An electrostatic analyser (ESA) onboard the Equator-S spacecraft operating in coordination with a potential control device (PCD) has obtained the first accurate electron energy spectrum with energies &7 eV-100 eV in the vicinity of the magnetopause. On 8 January, 1998, a solar wind pressure increase pushed the magnetopause inward, leaving the Equator-S spacecraft in the magnetosheath. On the return into the magnetosphere approximately 80 min later, the magnetopause was observed by the ESA and the solid state telescopes (the SSTs detected electrons and ions with energies &20–300 keV). The high time resolution (3 s) data from ESA and SST show the boundary region contains of multiple plasma sources that appear to evolve in space and time. We show that electrons with energies &7 eV–100 eV permeate the outer regions of the magnetosphere, from the magnetopause to &6Re. Pitch-angle distributions of &20–300 keV electrons show the electrons travel in both directions along the magnetic field with a peak at 90° indicating a trapped configuration. The IMF during this interval was dominated by Bx and By components with a small Bz.     

An experiment to study and control the Langmuir sheath around INTERBALL-2

The satellite INTERBALL-2 has an orbit with high inclination (62.8°), covering the altitude range between a few hundred and about 20000 km. The ambient plasma conditions along this orbit are highly variable, and the interactions of this plasma with the spacecraft body as well as the photo-electron sheath around it are considered to be interesting topics for detailed studies. The electric potential of the spacecraft with respect to the ambient plasma that develops as a result of the current equilibrium reacts sensitively to variations of the boundary conditions. The measurement and eventual control of this potential is a prerequisite for accurate measurements of the thermal plasma. We describe the purpose and technical implementation of an ion emitter instrument on-board INTERBALL-2 utilising ion beams at energies of several thousand electron volts in order to reduce and stabilise the positive spacecraft potential. First results of the active ion beam experiments, and other measures taken on INTERBALL-2 to reduce charging are presented. Furthermore, the approach and initial steps of modelling efforts of the sheath in the vicinity of the INTERBALL-2 spacecraft are described together with some estimates on the resulting spacecraft potential, and effects on thermal ion measurements. It is concluded that even moderate spacecraft potentials as are commonly observed on-board INTERBALL-2 can significantly distort the measurements of ion distribution functions, especially in the presence of strongly aniso-tropic distributions.     

The magnetic field experiment onboard Equator-S and its scientific possibilities

The special feature of the ringcore fluxgate magnetometer on Equator-S is the high time and field resolution. The scientific aim of the experiment is the investigation of waves in the 10–100 picotesla range with a time resolution up to 64 Hz. The instrument characteristics and the influence of the spacecraft on the magnetic field measurement will be discussed. The work shows that the applied pre- and inflight calibration techniques are sufficient to suppress spacecraft interferences. The offset in spin axis direction was determined for the first time with an independent field measurement by the Equator-S Electron Drift Instrument. The data presented gives an impression of the accuracy of the measurement.     

A flux transfer event observed at the magnetopause by the Equator-S spacecraft and in the ionosphere by the CUTLASS HF radar

Observations of a flux transfer event (FTE) have been made simultaneously by the Equator-S spacecraft near the dayside magnetopause whilst corresponding transient plasma flows were seen in the near-conjugate polar ionosphere by the CUTLASS Finland HF radar. Prior to the occurrence of the FTE, the magnetometer on the WIND spacecraft ≈226 R_E upstream of the Earth in the solar wind detected a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) which is estimated to have reached the subsolar magnetopause ≈77 min later. Shortly afterwards the Equator-S magnetometer observed a typical bipolar FTE signature in the magnetic field component normal to the magnetopause, just inside the magnetosphere. Almost simultaneously the CUTLASS Finland radar observed a strong transient flow in the F region plasma between 78° and 83° magnetic latitude, near the ionospheric region predicted to map along geomagnetic field lines to the spacecraft. The flow signature (and the data set as a whole) is found to be fully consistent with the view that the FTE was formed by a burst of magnetopause reconnection.     

Analysis of the ionospheric cross polar cap potentialdrop and electrostatic potential distribution patternsduring the January 1997 cme event using DMSP data

On 6 January 1997 a coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred on the sun producing amagnetic cloud in the solar wind that passed the Earth on 10–11 January 1997 and caused ageomagnetic storm. During this period there were two polar-orbiting DMSP spacecraft (F12 andF13) at 840 km carrying the SSIES plasma instruments on board, which measure the bulk flowvelocity of the thermal ions of the ionospheric plasma. These data are used to calculate theelectric field and electrostatic potential along the flight track of the spacecraft in the polar regions.The time history of the observed total cross polar cap potential drop for this event is presentedalong with comparisons to the estimates from the Weimer model and observations of the aurorafrom the UVI instrument on the POLAR spacecraft. A surprisingly large potential drop of 235 kVis observed at one point and appears to be the result of a pressure pulse in the solar windtriggering an enhancement of the geomagnetic activity. An examination of the electrostaticpotential distribution patterns in the polar ionosphere during the event is also presented.     

低地球轨道（LEO）的大型航天器充电

本文根据ＬＥＯ中等离子体温度低，密度高，德拜长度小的特点，采用薄鞘层近似，计算了离子收集电流；根据电流平衡方程，考虑表面二次电子发射，计算了大型航天器表面在沉降电子流辐照下的充电特性。     

A survey of magnetopause FTEs and associated flow bursts in the polar ionosphere

Using the Equator-S spacecraft and SuperDARN HF radars an extensive survey of bursty reconnection at the magnetopause and associated flows in the polar ionosphere has been conducted. Flux transfer event (FTE) signatures were identified in the Equator-S magnetometer data during periods of magnetopause contact in January and February 1998. Assuming the effects of the FTEs propagate to the polar ionosphere as geomagnetic field-aligned-currents and associated Alfveén-waves, appropriate field mappings to the fields-of-view of SuperDARN radars were performed. The radars observed discrete ionospheric flow channel events (FCEs) of the type previously assumed to be related to pulse reconnection. Such FCEs were associated with 80% of the FTEs and the two signatures are shown to be statistically associated with greater than 99% confidence. Exemplary case studies highlight the nature of the ionospheric flows and their relation to the high latitude convection pattern, the association methodology, and the problems caused by instrument limitations.     

Thermal ion measurements on board Interball Auroral Probe by the Hyperboloid experiment

Hyperboloid is a multi-directional mass spectrometer measuring ion distribution functions in the auroral and polar magnetosphere of the Earth in the thermal and suprathermal energy range. The instrument encompasses two analyzers containing a total of 26 entrance windows, and viewing in two almost mutually perpendicular half-planes. The nominal angular resolution is defined by the field of view of individual windows 13° × 12.5°. Energy analysis is performed using spherical electrostatic analyzers providing differential measurements between 1 and 80 eV. An ion beam emitter (RON experiment) and/or a potential bias applied to Hyperboloid entrance surface are used to counteract adverse effects of spacecraft potential and thus enable ion measurements down to very low energies. A magnetic analyzer focuses ions on one of four micro-channel plate (MCP) detectors, depending on their mass/charge ratio. Normal modes of operation enable to measure H⁺, He⁺, O⁺⁺, and O⁺ simultaneously. An automatic MCP gain control software is used to adapt the instrument to the great flux dynamics encountered between spacecraft perigee (700 km) and apogee (20 000 km). Distribution functions in the main analyzer half-plane are obtained after a complete scan of windows and energies with temporal resolution between one and a few seconds. Three-dimensional (3D) distributions are measured in one spacecraft spin period (120 s). The secondary analyzer has a much smaller geometrical factor, but offers partial access to the 3D dependence of the distributions with a few seconds temporal resolution. Preliminary results are presented. Simultaneous, local heating of both H⁺ and O⁺ ions resulting in conical distributions below 80 eV is observed up to 3 Earths radii altitudes. The thermal ion signatures associated with large-scale nightside magnetospheric boundaries are investigated and a new ion outflow feature is identified associated to the polar edge of the auroral oval. Detailed distribution functions of injected magnetosheath ions and ouflowing cleft fountain ions are measured down to a few eVs in the dayside.     

Quantifying the response of optical backscatter devices and transmissometers to variations in suspended particulate matter

Optical instruments have been used effectively in studies of sediment dynamics for several decades. Without accurate instrument calibrations, calculated concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) may be unreliable, with implications for interpretations of sedimentary processes and sediment fluxes. This review aims to quantify the effect of variations in SPM characteristics on the response of optical instruments (optical backscatter sensors OBS and transmissometers) and to note the implications for users of these instruments. A number of factors have a significant impact on instrument response, for example; a change in grain size from medium sands to fine silts may lead to a×100 increase in instrument response; flocculation of fine particles may decrease instrument response by×2; and the presence of plankton in suspension may lead to poor instrument calibrations of SPM concentration. Calibrations carried out in environments either with multi-modal bottom sediments, where flocculation of fine-grained sediments is likely, or where the hydrodynamics or grain type are highly variable must also include a determination of the changing nature of the suspended load in space and time. A more complete understanding of instrument response to SPM and of calibration requirements may enable optical devices to be used to a greater potential as long-term measures of SPM concentration, and also enable improvements in calculations of net sediment fluxes.     

The Equator-S mission

In spite of its short operational life of only five months, the major goals of the Equator-S mission were fulfilled, except that its contribution to the ISTP science is restricted to the morning sector of the outer magnetosphere. A set of twelve papers following this introduction is a first documentation of the achievements. They span from the successful testing and operation of the most advanced and complex way of measuring electric fields in a hot plasma environment by means of electron beams, to various investigations at or near the equatorial magnetopause and in the plasma sheet.     

A multifactor analysis of parameters controlling solar wind ion flux correlations using an artificial neural network technique

Solar wind plasma and magnetic field observations from multiple spacecraft can be used to separate temporal and spatial variations and to determine the accuracy of predictions of solar wind conditions near Earth based on distant-spacecraft measurements. The study of correlations between the ion fluxes measured by three spatially separated spacecraft (IMP 8, WIND and INTERBALL-1) was one of the first steps in this direction. This paper describes a complex multifactor analysis of different physical, geometrical, and statistical parameters that control such correlations (considered separately and in combination). A linear-regression and an artificial neural network techniques are used for this analysis. The analysis is applied to an extensive array of correlation coefficients for the ion flux in the solar wind and provides estimates of the relative significance of the factors that control these correlation coefficients. The study shows that the most influential parameters are the solar wind density and the standard deviations of solar wind density, solar wind velocity and interplanetary magnetic field. This set of parameters permits us to develop a sufficiently accurate (with a relative error of less than a few per cent) quantitative model for the correlation between the ion fluxes measured on two spatially separated spacecraft.     

Dynamics and local boundary properties of the dawn-side magnetopause under conditions observed by Equator-S

Magnetic field measurements, taken by the magnetometer experiment (MAM) on board the German Equator-S spacecraft, have been used to identify and categorise 131 crossings of the dawn-side magnetopause at low latitude, providing unusual, long duration coverage of the adjacent magnetospheric regions and near magnetosheath. The crossings occurred on 31 orbits, providing unbiased coverage over the full range of local magnetic shear from 06:00 to 10:40 LT. Apogee extent places the spacecraft in conditions associated with intermediate, rather than low, solar wind dynamic pressure, as it processes into the flank region. The apogee of the spacecraft remains close to the magnetopause for mean solar wind pressure. The occurrence of the magnetopause encounters are summarised and are found to compare well with predicted boundary location, where solar wind conditions are known. Most scale with solar wind pressure. Magnetopause shape is also documented and we find that the magnetopause orientation is consistently sunward of a model boundary and is not accounted for by IMF or local magnetic shear conditions. A number of well-established crossings, particularly those at high magnetic shear, or exhibiting unusually high-pressure states, were observed and have been analysed for their boundary characteristics and some details of their boundary and near magnetosheath properties are discussed. Of particular note are the occurrence of mirror-like signatures in the adjacent magnetosheath during a significant fraction of the encounters and a high number of multiple crossings over a long time period. The latter is facilitated by the spacecraft orbit which is designed to remain in the near magnetosheath for average solar wind pressure. For most encounters, a well-ordered, tangential (draped) magnetosheath field is observed and there is little evidence of large deviations in local boundary orientations. Two passes corresponding to close conjunctions of the Geotail spacecraft are analysed to confirm boundary orientation and motion. These further show evidence of an anti-sunward moving depression on the magnetopause (which is much smaller at Equator-S). The Tsyganenko model field is used routinely to assist in categorising the crossings and some comparison of models is carried out. We note that typically the T87 model fits the data better than the T89 model during conditions of low to intermediate K_p index near the magnetopause and also near the dawn-side tail current sheet in the dawnside region.     

Magnetotail particle distributions associated with pitch angle isotropization

We present modeled ion distributions in the near-Earth magnetotail expected to be associated with high latitude pitch angle isotropization. The model consists of a magnetic field reversal and a plasma source such that particles have a ratio of the minimum field line curvature radius to maximum gyroradius near unity, a nonadiabatic regime. For precipitating particles observed at the edge of the field reversal, we find structuring in the ion distribution consisting of peaks and valleys in the pitch angle distribution, particularly for intermediate values of field line curvature, which is consistent with the near-Earth tail region. The structures are non-Maxwellian and not gyrotropic. They are resolvable by instruments such as the GEOTAIL spacecraft CPI detector and can be used as a remote sensing method for fields in this regime between adiabatic motion and current sheet motion.     

Dispersive O+ conics observed in the plasma-sheet boundary layer with CRRES/LOMICS during a magnetic storm

We present initial results from the Low-energy magnetospheric ion composition sensor (LOMICS) on the Combined release and radiation effects satellite (CRRES) together with electron, magnetic field, and electric field wave data. LOMICS measures all important magnetospheric ion species (H⁺, He⁺⁺, He⁺, O⁺⁺, O⁺) simultaneously in the energy range 60 eV to 45 keV, as well as their pitch-angle distributions, within the time resolution afforded by the spacecraft spin period of 30 s. During the geomagnetic storm of 9 July 1991, over a period of 42 min (0734 UT to 0816 UT) the LOMICS ion mass spectrometer observed an apparent O⁺ conic flowing away from the southern hemisphere with a bulk velocity that decreased exponentially with time from 300 km/s to 50 km/s, while its temperature also decreased exponentially from 700 to 5 eV. At the onset of the O⁺ conic, intense low-frequency electromagnetic wave activity and strong pitch-angle scattering were also observed. At the time of the observations the CRRES spacecraft was inbound at L\approx7.5 near dusk, magnetic local time (MLT), and at a magnetic latitude of -23°. Our analysis using several CRRES instruments suggests that the spacecraft was skimming along the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) when the upward-flowing ion conic arrived. The conic appears to have evolved in time, both slowing and cooling, due to wave-particle interactions. We are unable to conclude whether the conic was causally associated with spatial structures of the PSBL or the central plasma sheet.     

High-beta plasma blobs in the morningside plasma sheet

Equator-S frequently encountered, i.e. on 30%0of the orbits between 1 March and 17 April 1998, strong variations of the magnetic field strength of typically 5–15-min duration outside about 9R_E during the late-night/early-morning hours. Very high-plasma beta values were found, varying between 1 and 10 or more. Close conjunctions between Equator-S and Geotail revealed the spatial structure of these “plasma blobs” and their lifetime. They are typically 5–10° wide in longitude and have an antisymmetric plasma or magnetic pressure distribution with respect to the equator, while being altogether low-latitude phenomena (<15°). They drift slowly sunward, exchange plasma across the equator and have a lifetime of at least 15–30 min. While their spatial structure may be due to some sort of mirror instability, little is known about the origin of the high-beta plasma. It is speculated that the morningside boundary layer somewhat further tailward may be the source of this plasma. This would be consistent with the preference of the plasma blobs to occur during quiet conditions, although they are also found during substorm periods. The relation to auroral phenomena in the morningside oval is uncertain. The energy deposition may be mostly too weak to generate a visible signature. However, patchy aurora remains a candidate for more disturbed periods.     

Substorm observations in the early morning sector with Equator-S and Geotail

Data from Equator-S and Geotail are used to study the dynamics of the plasma sheet observed during a substorm with multiple intensifications on 25 April 1998, when both spacecraft were located in the early morning sector (03–04 MLT) at a radial distance of 10–11 R_E. In association with the onset of a poleward expansion of the aurora and the westward electrojet in the premidnight and midnight sector, both satellites in the morning sector observed plasma sheet thinning and changes toward a more tail-like field configuration. During the subsequent poleward expansion in a wider local time sector (20−04 MLT), on the other hand, the magnetic field configuration at both satellites changed into a more dipolar configuration and both satellites encountered again the hot plasma sheet. High-speed plasma flows with velocities of up to 600 km/s and lasting 2–5 min were observed in the plasma sheet and near its boundary during this plasma sheet expansion. These high-speed flows included significant dawn-dusk flows and had a shear structure. They may have been produced by an induced electric field at the local dipolarization region and/or by an enhanced pressure gradient associated with the injection in the midnight plasma sheet.     

GSM-19T质子旋进磁力仪比测实验分析

为了检测GSM-19T质子旋进磁力仪主要技术指标及参数的性能,2019年10月17—21日河北省地震局红山基准台以GSM-19W Overhauser磁力仪为标准仪器,对40台GSM-19T质子旋进磁力仪地磁总强度F,通过同步连续采样观测和仪器差进行了比测,计算其差值和均方差。结果表明,大部分测量仪器与标准仪器具有较好的一致性和稳定性,地磁总强度F均方差和仪器差均较小,各项技术指标参数符合大纲测试要求,测量仪器比测合格,可为基站观测和野外流动观测提供准确可靠的数据和仪器保障;小部分测量仪器有漂移,地磁总强度F均方差稍大。     

The adequacy of the ionospheric source in supplying magnetospheric plasma

More than 30 years after the prediction of the polar wind outflow from the high latitude ionosphere, the exact magnitude and ultimate fate of the ionospheric plasma supply remains unknown. Estimates made more than a decade ago suggested that the polar ion outflow might well be of sufficient strength to populate the different regions of the Earth’s magnetosphere. Direct measurements in the high altitude magnetosphere became possible only with the launch of the Polar spacecraft. The combination of the Thermal Ion Dynamics Experiment and the Plasma Source Instrument has revealed the presence of low energy (<10 eV) ions moving through the polar regions and into the lobes of the magnetotail. These ions would have been invisible to previous un-neutralized satellites because of the high positive spacecraft potentials. Through the use of a recently developed single particle trajectory and energization code, the movement and energy transformation of these measured particles can be estimated. They are found to move into the plasma sheet region and to be energized to typical plasma sheet energies. The magnitude of the flux of the highly variable out-flowing ions mapped to 1000 km altitude is 1 − 3 × 10⁸ ions/cm² s in agreement with the original estimates. Future observations by the TIDE/PSI instruments will be required to determine the extent of the total ionospheric contribution.     

从空间飞行器注入电离层的调制电子束产生的电磁波辐射

调制电子束入射进电离层等离子体中会激发电磁波辐射,根据不同试验条件和等离子体状态,激发电磁波的机制也不一样.本文主要讨论半无界稀薄调制电子束沿地球磁场力线从空间飞行器入射到电离层等离子体产生的电磁波辐射,其相应的辐射机理是由于束的纵向约束而产生的电磁波辐射.理论分析和数值计算结果显示,在满足切伦柯夫（Cerenkov）共振条件时,哨声波前向辐射方向图有一个尖锐的峰值,且随着电子束弛豫长度的增加,辐射功率值也相应增大,表明可以通过对电子束的适当调制增强电子束激发的电磁波辐射强度.