Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms

Abstract A substorm is a transient phenomenon that lasts for only 1–2 h. One significant manifestation of the substorm is a sudden brightening of the aurora on the nightside. Simultaneously, the auroral electrojets are abruptly intensified in the ionosphere, disturbing the geomagnetic field in the p...

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Main Author: Yusuke Ebihara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2019-03-01
Series:Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40645-019-0273-2
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author Yusuke Ebihara
author_facet Yusuke Ebihara
author_sort Yusuke Ebihara
collection DOAJ
description Abstract A substorm is a transient phenomenon that lasts for only 1–2 h. One significant manifestation of the substorm is a sudden brightening of the aurora on the nightside. Simultaneously, the auroral electrojets are abruptly intensified in the ionosphere, disturbing the geomagnetic field in the polar region. The near-Earth space environment is highly disturbed, which manifests as an earthward fast flow of plasma, a sudden change in the magnetic field, or a sudden increase in hot plasma. Such disturbances are known to severely affect human society. The ultimate cause of the disturbances is the solar wind, but an explanation of the chain of processes leading from solar wind to the ionosphere is problematic. Here, the evolution of the auroral substorm is reviewed based on the results of a global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation, called a REProduce Plasma Universe (REPPU) code. The REPPU code is shown to reproduce many aspects of the auroral substorms and to be useful for understanding the primary chain processes from the solar wind to the ionosphere.
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spelling doaj.art-8c9896bea7d84e0792dc376a510495722022-12-21T23:58:45ZengSpringerOpenProgress in Earth and Planetary Science2197-42842019-03-016112410.1186/s40645-019-0273-2Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substormsYusuke Ebihara0Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto UniversityAbstract A substorm is a transient phenomenon that lasts for only 1–2 h. One significant manifestation of the substorm is a sudden brightening of the aurora on the nightside. Simultaneously, the auroral electrojets are abruptly intensified in the ionosphere, disturbing the geomagnetic field in the polar region. The near-Earth space environment is highly disturbed, which manifests as an earthward fast flow of plasma, a sudden change in the magnetic field, or a sudden increase in hot plasma. Such disturbances are known to severely affect human society. The ultimate cause of the disturbances is the solar wind, but an explanation of the chain of processes leading from solar wind to the ionosphere is problematic. Here, the evolution of the auroral substorm is reviewed based on the results of a global magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) simulation, called a REProduce Plasma Universe (REPPU) code. The REPPU code is shown to reproduce many aspects of the auroral substorms and to be useful for understanding the primary chain processes from the solar wind to the ionosphere.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40645-019-0273-2SubstormsAuroraComputer simulationMagnetosphereIonosphere
spellingShingle Yusuke Ebihara
Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms
Progress in Earth and Planetary Science
Substorms
Aurora
Computer simulation
Magnetosphere
Ionosphere
title Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms
title_full Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms
title_fullStr Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms
title_full_unstemmed Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms
title_short Simulation study of near-Earth space disturbances: 2. Auroral substorms
title_sort simulation study of near earth space disturbances 2 auroral substorms
topic Substorms
Aurora
Computer simulation
Magnetosphere
Ionosphere
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40645-019-0273-2
work_keys_str_mv AT yusukeebihara simulationstudyofnearearthspacedisturbances2auroralsubstorms