Solar Wind Control of Electric Fields and Currents in the Ionosphere

Abstract

KERN (1966) substantiated theoretically the feasibility of using geomagnetic field variations on the earth's surface to calculate the spatial structure of the current system. Algorithms of the electric field and current calculation being used at present are examined. The methods for discriminating the geomagnetic variations controlled by various solar wind parameters are discussed. The calculation results obtained for the assumption of the uniform ionospheric conductivity are presented. This approximation made it possible to account for the existing regularities in the distribution of field-aligned currents underdefinite solar wind conditions and to predict the character of the three-dimensional current system in the intervals with the positive B_z IMF. The methods for and the results of calculating the electrostatic potential, the electric field, the ionospheric and field-aligned currents in the highlatitude ionosphere for nonuniform conductivity are presented in detail. The calculation results are compared with the direct measurements of the respective parameters.