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Ann. Geophys., 26, 709-724, 2008
www.ann-geophys.net/26/709/2008/
© European Geosciences Union 2008
Structure of the near-Earth plasma sheet during tailward flows
A. Runov1,*, I. Voronkov2, Y. Asano3, W. Baumjohann1, M. Fujimoto4, R. Nakamura1, T. Takada1, M. Volwerk1,5, Z. Vörös1,6, M. Meurant2, A. Fazakerley7, H. Rème8, and A. Balogh9
1Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, 8042 Graz, Austria
2University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
3Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan
4Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences, JAXA, Kanagawa, Japan
5Max Plank Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Garching, Germany
6Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Prague, Czech Republic
7Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL, London, UK
8Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France
9Imperial College, London, UK
*now at: Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract. A detailed analysis of successive tailward flow bursts in the near-Earth
magnetotail (X~−19 RE) plasma sheet is performed on the basis of
in-situ multi-point observations by the Cluster spacecraft on 15 September
2001. The tailward flows were detected during a northward IMF interval, 2.5 h
after a substorm expansion. Each flow burst (Vx<300 km/s) was
associated with local auroral activation. Enhancements of the parallel and
anti-parallel ~1 keV electron flux were detected during the flows. The
spacecraft configuration enables to monitor the neutral sheet (Bx≈0)
and the level of Bx≈10–15 nT simultaneously, giving a
possibility to distinguish between closed plasmoid-like structures and open
NFTE-like surges. The data analysis shows NFTE-like structures and localized
current filaments embedded into the tailward plasma flow. 3-D shapes of the
structures were reconstructed using the four-point magnetic filed
measurements and the particle data.
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