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Determining the thickness of the low-latitude boundary layer in the Earth’s magnetosphere

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Abstract

We describe a method for determining the thickness of the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) of the Earth’s magnetosphere at the dayside near the equatorial plane based on the data gathered by a single satellite that traverses the layer and measures the plasma velocity. The method may be applied when the position of the magnetopause and the magnetosheath parameters fluctuate. The necessity of taking the presence of outer and inner LLBL regions into account is analyzed. The developed method is tested using the analysis results of two almost simultaneous close traverses of the magnetopause completed by the THEMIS mission satellites that provided relatively precise data on the LLBL thickness. It is shown that the developed method makes it possible to determine the LLBL thickness with an accuracy of ∼10%.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skobeltsyn Research Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia

    S. S. Znatkova, E. E. Antonova, M. S. Pulinets & I. P. Kirpichev

  2. Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Profsoyuznaya 84/32, Moscow, 117997, Russia

    E. E. Antonova & I. P. Kirpichev

Authors
  1. S. S. Znatkova
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  2. E. E. Antonova
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  3. M. S. Pulinets
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  4. I. P. Kirpichev
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Correspondence to S. S. Znatkova.

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Original Russian Text © S.S. Znatkova, E.E. Antonova, M.S. Pulinets, I.P. Kirpichev, 2013, published in Geomagnetizm i Aeronomiya, 2013, Vol. 53, No. 6, pp. 745–756.

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Znatkova, S.S., Antonova, E.E., Pulinets, M.S. et al. Determining the thickness of the low-latitude boundary layer in the Earth’s magnetosphere. Geomagn. Aeron. 53, 699–710 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793213060170

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793213060170

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