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Ohtani et al. 2000
Ohtani, S., Newell, P.T. and Takahashi, K. (2000). Dawn-dusk profile of field-aligned currents on May 11, 1999: A Familiar pattern driven by an unusual cause. Geophysical Research Letters 27: doi: 10.1029/2000GL003789. issn: 0094-8276.

On May 11, 1999, when the solar wind almost disappeared, the DMSP-F13 satellite observed two field-aligned current (FAC) sheets on both dawn and dusk sides. The dawnside FACs are identified as conventional region 1 (R1) and region 2 (R2) currents. The duskside FACs are collocated with intense polar-rain precipitation and are identified as midday region 1 and region 0 currents. Whereas the positive IMF BY observed explains the duskward shift/extension of those midday current systems, the extent of the distortion was unusual. It is inferred that the magnetospheric configuration was more axisymmetrical because of extremely low solar-wind dynamic pressure, and therefore the reconnection took place farther away from the midday sector. Conventional R1 and R2 currents as well as boundary layer-type precipitation were nearly absent at dusk, suggesting that the viscous interaction did not operate at least observably on the dusk side in the present event. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union

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Abstract

Keywords
Magnetospheric Physics, Energetic particles, precipitating, Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics, Magnetospheric Physics, Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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