Professor Colin Waters

Three new methods for estimating a ratio of the ultralow frequency (ULF; 1¿100¿mHz) wave equatorial electric field amplitude in the Earth's magnetosphere to ground magnetic field amplitudes for field line resonances (FLR) are described. These methods use ratios of the time series extrema, ratios of the envelope waveform and the ratio of the spectral amplitude at the FLR frequency. These methods were applied to four ULF resonance intervals; three detected by the Van Allen Probe A spacecraft and one detected by the POLAR spacecraft. The intervals were conjoined with the CARISMA and IMAGE ground magnetometer arrays. The spectral ratio results for the Van Allen Probe intervals were approximately twice to three times the ratios estimated from the two time series based methods. The POLAR interval showed similar values across all three methods. The differences are attributed to broadband frequency signals that modify the time series amplitudes, while the spectral method avoids these off-resonant frequencies. Based on the results of this study, a spectral based method for calculating the ratio at the FLR frequency is best.

This study considers 28 geomagnetic storms with Dst (Formula presented.) nT driven by high-speed streams (HSSs) and associated stream interaction regions (SIRs) during 2010¿2017. Their impact on ionospheric horizontal and field-aligned currents (FACs) have been investigated using superposed epoch analysis of SuperMAG and AMPERE data, respectively. The zero epoch ((Formula presented.)) was set to the onset of the storm main phase. Storms begin in the SIR with enhanced solar wind density and compressed southward oriented magnetic field. The integrated FAC and equivalent currents maximize 40 and 58¿min after (Formula presented.), respectively, followed by a small peak in the middle of the main phase ((Formula presented.) +¿4¿hr), and a slightly larger peak just before the Dst minimum ((Formula presented.) +¿5.3¿hr). The currents are strongly driven by the solar wind, and the correlation between the Akasofu (Formula presented.) and integrated FAC is 0.90. The number of substorm onsets maximizes near (Formula presented.). The storms were also separated into two groups based on the solar wind dynamic pressure pdyn in the vicinity of the SIR. High pdyn storms reach solar wind velocity maxima earlier and have shorter lead times from the HSS arrival to storm onset compared with low pdyn events. The high pdyn events also have sudden storm commencements, stronger solar wind driving and ionospheric response at (Formula presented.), and are primarily responsible for the first peak in the currents after (Formula presented.). After (Formula presented.) days, the currents and number of substorm onsets become higher for low compared with high pdyn events, which may be related to higher solar wind speed.

It is often stated that high-frequency radars experience a loss of backscatter during geomagnetic storm events. The occurrence of backscatter during 25 intense geomagnetic storms was examined using data from the Bruny Island and Kodiak radars and a superposed epoch analysis. It was found that while a reduction of backscatter occurred in the middle to far ranges, there was an increase in the amount of backscatter from close range following storm onset. Ray tracing showed that an enhanced charge density in the E region can reduce the chance of F region and increase the chance of E region backscatter. It was also shown that reduction in backscatter cannot be explained by D region absorption. Using a normalized SYM-H value, percentage time through recovery phase can be estimated during storm progression which allows a prediction of backscatter return in real time that accounts for varying storm recovery phase duration.

We use test particle simulations incorporating an MHD model of ULF wave propagation in the magnetosphere with realistic ionosphere boundary conditions to study electron energization in the dayside outer Van Allen radiation belt, referenced to in situ particle and wave observations. On 7 January 2011 the THEMIS spacecraft detected 3 and 4¿5 mHz waves simultaneous with flux enhancement of >10¿keV electrons during the early recovery phase of a moderate geomagnetic storm. We find that internal energization of equatorially mirroring electrons via nonresonant ULF wave-particle interactions can explain these observations. The wave poloidal components cause radial drift of electrons, increasing (decreasing) their kinetic energy as they move inward (outward). Electrons with initial kinetic energies of a few keV can be energized to double these values within an hour by interaction with the 3 mHz waves. The energization rate is somewhat less for the 4¿5 mHz waves. An increase in the ionospheric conductance decreases the power of the fast mode wave, reducing radial drift velocities and hence decreasing the rate of energization. The fast mode poloidal field varies with radial distance and longitude, and this also affects energization. Electrons which drift outward encounter a region where the toroidal field due to the field line resonance becomes dominant and produces strong azimuthal drift. These electrons become trapped in an L-shell range just outward of the resonance region and are not energized.

Magnetopause observations by Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) and Birkeland currents observed by the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment are used to relate magnetopause encounters to ionospheric electrodynamics. MMS magnetopause crossings on 15 August and 19 September 2015 occurred earthward of expectations due to solar wind ram pressure alone and coincided with equatorward expansion of the Birkeland currents. Magnetopause erosion, consistent with expansion of the polar cap, contributed to the magnetopause crossings. The ionospheric projections of MMS during the events and at times of the magnetopause crossings indicate that MMS observations are related to the main path of flux transport in one case but not in a second. The analysis provides a way to routinely relate in situ observations to the context of in situ convection and flux transport.

©2015. American Geophysical Union. The power spectrum of the compressional component of magnetic fields observed by the Van Allen Probes spacecraft near the magnetospheric equator in the dayside plasmasphere sometimes exhibits regularly spaced multiple peaks at frequencies below 50 mHz. We show by detailed analysis of events observed on two separate days in early 2014 that the frequencies change smoothly with the radial distance of the spacecraft and appear at or very near the frequencies of the odd harmonics of mutiharmonic toroidal mode standing Alfvén waves seen in the azimuthal component of the magnetic field. Even though the compressional component had a low amplitude on one of the selected days, its spectral properties are highlighted by computing the ratio of the spectral powers of time series data obtained from two spatially separated Van Allen Probes spacecraft. The spectral similarity of the compressional and azimuthal components suggests that the compressional component contains field line resonance characteristics.

©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. The diffusion and energization of electrons in the equatorial plane of Earth's magnetosphere by ULF waves under different ionosphere boundary conditions are examined. Using test-particle simulations and considering intervals of weak geomagnetic activity, we find that the highest energization and minimum diffusion rates correspond to nightside ionosphere conditions. Conversely, the highest diffusion rates and minimum energization are seen for a perfectly reflecting ionosphere boundary. The maximum energies gained under dayside conditions, when Hall conductivity is included, are slightly greater than the maximum energy for similar conditions without Hall conductivity. The diffusion rates for dayside ionosphere conditions with only Pedersen conductivity are greater than the diffusion rates when Hall conductivity is included. These findings show that ULF wave-particle interactions in Earth's magnetosphere depend on the ionosphere conductance.

A statistical-based method combined with basis function expansion techniques is described in order to provide extensive maps of the ground level perturbation magnetic field from 40° magnetic latitude to the north magnetic pole for all longitudes. The method combines historical data from the SuperMAG data base, Principal Component Analysis, and a spherical cap harmonic basis function expansion in order to fill in magnetic perturbation data where there are no magnetometers and produce the poloidal current potential. The maps have a regular grid with a 2° latitude and 1 h longitude spacing. The statistical process uses SuperMAG data derived magnetic indices plus the solar zenith angle which orders the resulting spatial maps by geomagnetic activity indicators to enhance model agreement with the data. For quiet through to moderate magnetic activity intervals, the root-mean-square error between the input and the fitted data are 18 nT and 10 nT for the north-south and east-west components, respectively, which are of similar magnitude to the statistical uncertainty in the SuperMAG data set.

The MAVEN spacecraft launched in November 2013, arrived at Mars in September 2014, and completed commissioning and began its one-Earth-year primary science mission in November 2014. The orbiter¿s science objectives are to explore the interactions of the Sun and the solar wind with the Mars magnetosphere and upper atmosphere, to determine the structure of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere and the processes controlling it, to determine the escape rates from the upper atmosphere to space at the present epoch, and to measure properties that allow us to extrapolate these escape rates into the past to determine the total loss of atmospheric gas to space through time. These results will allow us to determine the importance of loss to space in changing the Mars climate and atmosphere through time, thereby providing important boundary conditions on the history of the habitability of Mars. The MAVEN spacecraft contains eight science instruments (with nine sensors) that measure the energy and particle input from the Sun into the Mars upper atmosphere, the response of the upper atmosphere to that input, and the resulting escape of gas to space. In addition, it contains an Electra relay that will allow it to relay commands and data between spacecraft on the surface and Earth.

©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Localized fast flows that impinge on the inner magnetosphere from the plasma sheet are observed to oscillate on time scales of minutes. The compression ahead of these flows will launch fast mode waves, while the velocity shears at the edges of these flows directly excite shear Alfvén waves. These waves, which are coupled by gradients in the Alfvén speed, have been suggested as a source for the Pi1 and Pi2 waves that are observed at both high and low latitudes in the ionosphere. A new three-dimensional simulation of the propagation of ULF waves in the dipolar region of the magnetosphere has been developed to study these coupled wave modes. This model includes a height-resolved ionospheric conductivity so that ionospheric fields can be more realistically determined, as well as a direct calculation of ground magnetic fields to compare with ground magnetometers using an inductive ionosphere model. Results from this model show that a plasmaspheric resonance can be set up by waves with periods about 1 min and that field line resonances can be excited both inside and outside the plasmasphere. The use of the inductive ionosphere model leads to the conclusion that even a uniform Hall conductivity can break the dawn-dusk symmetry of the convection pattern. Waves from a source at 10 Earth radii reach the ionosphere with time delays between high and low latitudes of tens of seconds, with implications for the timing of substorm phenomena observed by spacecraft and by ground magnetometers and radars.

©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Ultralow frequency (ULF) plasma waves propagate through the magnetosphere and ionosphere where they can alter the Doppler velocity of HF radar echoes. Data from the two Tasman International Geospace Environment Radars and the fluxgate and induction coil magnetometers located on Macquarie Island (54.5S, 158.95E geographic) over 2006-2009 show that ULF wave signatures are common. Using coincident radar and magnetometer data selection criteria, 194 events representing a total of 233.4 h were identified. The majority of ULF signatures seen in the radar data were detected between 06 and 12 UT (15 and 21 LT). Using the Maximum Entropy Method, the spectral content showed favored frequencies of 1.6, 2.1, 2.9, and 3.3 mHz but no obvious variation of frequency with latitude. Most of the observed frequencies were in the range 1-4 mHz. A class of Doppler velocity signatures that appeared as a zigzag shape in the radar range:time plots were identified and may be related to the expected plasmapause latitudes. Regularly spaced, favored frequencies appeared in the ground magnetometer data during the afternoon, night, and morning sectors for those days where ULF wave events were observed in the radar data.

Ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by sunlight forms a complex, multilayered plasma environment within the Earth's magnetosphere, the innermost layers being the ionosphere and plasmasphere. The plasmasphere is believed to be embedded with cylindrical density structures (ducts) aligned along the Earth's magnetic field, but direct evidence for these remains scarce. Here we report the first direct wide-angle observation of an extensive array of field-aligned ducts bridging the upper ionosphere and inner plasmasphere, using a novel ground-based imaging technique. We establish their heights and motions by feature tracking and parallax analysis. The structures are strikingly organized, appearing as regularly spaced, alternating tubes of overdensities and underdensities strongly aligned with the Earth's magnetic field. These findings represent the first direct visual evidence for the existence of such structures.

© 2015 American Geophysical Union. Quarter-wave modes are standing shear Alfvén waves supported along geomagnetic field lines in space. They are predicted to be generated when the ionosphere has very different conductance between the north compared with the south ionosphere. Our previous observation reported that the resonant frequency is sometimes very low around the dawn terminator and suggested these were due to quarter-wave modes. In this paper, we examine the resonance structure that provides further evidence of the presence of quarter-wave modes. Data from three magnetometers in New Zealand were analyzed. Four events are discussed which show extraordinarily low eigenfrequencies, wide resonance widths, and strong damping when the ionosphere above New Zealand was in darkness while the conjugate northern hemisphere ionosphere was sunlit. Later in the morning, the eigenfrequencies and resonance widths changed to normal daytime values. The wide resonance width and the strong damping of the quarter-wave modes arise from strong energy dissipation in the dark side ionosphere. One event exhibited field line resonance structure continuously through a transition from very low frequency to the normal daytime values. The frequency change began when the dawn terminator passed over New Zealand and finished 1h later when the ratio of the interhemispheric ionospheric conductances decreased and reached ~5. These observations are strong evidence of the presence of quarter-wave modes and mode conversion from quarter- to half-wave resonances. These experimental results were compared with the ULF wave fields obtained from a 2.5-dimensional simulation model.

The plasmapause is a highly dynamic boundary between different magnetospheric particle populations and convection regimes. Some of the most important space weather processes involve wave-particle interactions in this region, but wave properties may also be used to remote sense the plasmasphere and plasmapause, contributing to plasmasphere models. This paper discusses the use of existing ground magnetometer arrays for such remote sensing. Using case studies we illustrate measurement of plasmapause location, shape and movement during storms; refilling of flux tubes within and outside the plasmasphere; storm-time increase in heavy ion concentration near the plasmapause; and detection and mapping of density irregularities near the plasmapause, including drainage plumes, biteouts and bulges. We also use a 2D MHD model of wave propagation through the magnetosphere, incorporating a realistic ionosphere boundary and Alfvén speed profile, to simulate ground array observations of power and cross-phase spectra, hence confirming the signatures of plumes and other density structures.

The Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment uses magnetic field data from the Iridium constellation to derive the global Birkeland current distribution every 10 min. We examine cases in which the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) rotated from northward to southward resulting in onsets of the Birkeland currents. Dayside Region 1/2 currents, totaling ~25% of the final current, appear within 20 min of the IMF southward turning and remain steady. Onset of nightside currents occurs 40 to 70 min after the dayside currents appear. Thereafter, the currents intensify at dawn, dusk, and on the dayside, yielding a fully formed Region 1/2 system ~30 min after the nightside onset. The results imply that the dayside Birkeland currents are driven by magnetopause reconnection, and the remainder of the system forms as magnetospheric return flows start and progress sunward, ultimately closing the Dungey convection cycle. Key Points Dayside currents, both Regions 1 and 2, form promptly with solar wind forcing The onset of nightside currents, Regions 1 and 2, coincides with substorm onset Most of the current system develops from the nightside after onset © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.