Magnetotail response during a strong substorm as observed by GEOTAIL in the distant tail

• Main Authors: A. Belehaki, R. W. Mcentire, S. Kokubun, T. Yamamoto
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Kiruna
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.371.9607; http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/31/63/87/PDF/angeo-16-528-1998.pdf

Abstract. Simultaneous energetic particle and magnetic ®eld observations from the GEOTAIL spacecraft in the distant tail (XGSM)150 Re) have been analysed to study the response of the Earth's magnetotail during a strong substorm (AE 680 nT). At geosynchronous altitude, LANL spacecraft recorded three electron injections between 0030 UT and 0130 UT, which correspond to onsets observed on the ground at Kiruna Ground Observatory. The Earth's magnetotail responded to this substorm with the ejection of ®ve plasmoids, whose size decreases from one plasmoid to the next. Since the type of magnetic structure detected by a spacecraft residing the lobes, depends on the Z extent of the structure passing underneath the spacecraft, GEO-TAIL is ®rst engulfed by a plasmoid structure; six