Abstract
Depleted narrow (localized in longitude) regions (field tubes) in the plasmasphere, recently discovered in He+ radiation measurements on the IMAGE spacecraft, were first directly observed by the Magion-5 satellite. The low-density regions (notches) occupy <∼ 10–30° in longitude and extend from L ∼ 2–3 to the plasmasphere boundary in neighboring plasmasphere regions with larger densities. The Magion-5 data give evidence that in the low-density regions temperature is enhanced as compared to the neighboring denser plasmasphere regions. Formation of notches in the plasmasphere is, apparently, associated with AE intensification during weak magnetic storms, while strong magnetic storms usually result in the overall reduction of plasmasphere dimensions. However, even a strong magnetic storm on April 6–7, 2000 (max K p = 9-and min D st ∼ −290 nT), but accompanied by an isolated AE impulse, resulted in a density decrease only in the longitudinally limited post-midnight sector of the plasmasphere.
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Original Russian Text © G.A. Kotova, V.V. Bezrukikh, M.I. Verigin, O.S. Akentieva, J. Smilauer, 2008, published in Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, 2008, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 17–26.
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Kotova, G.A., Bezrukikh, V.V., Verigin, M.I. et al. Study of notches in the Earth’s plasmasphere based on data of the MAGION-5 satellite. Cosmic Res 46, 15–24 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0010952508010036
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0010952508010036