Last changed in May 2004

Millstone Hill Electric Field Model 2004

Millstone Hill Electric Field Model 2004 provide electrostatic potential patterns and the corresponding ExB plasma drifts over the apex magnetic latitude range of 50 degrees through 80 degrees, based on data from the complete Millstone Hill ISR databases.

Line of sight Doppler ion drift measurements are used to determine the northward and eastward ion drift components as a function of Apex latitude, local time, and season. The drifts in each of these bins are grouped according to magnetic activity conditions represented by e.g., IMF By and Bz values or Kp and IMF By. Statistical averages therefore are obtained for each temporal, spatial, and magnetic activity bin. Shown in this website are patterns in Apex LT-Latitude cooridinates for various combinations of By and Bz, or Kp and By.

This model will represent the average response to the solar wind induced changes in the magnetospheric convection, thus providing a baseline from which the more variable effects of substorms and storm, and disturbed neutral wind (the disturbance dynamo) can be isolated [e.g. Foster et al, 1986]. Millstone Hill lies near the equatorward boundary of most convection models, so our model, which includes data near and to the south of Millstone, will help specifiy the low-latitude boundary of the magnetospheric convection pattern which is not well represented at present.

This website provides access to plots of the potential and velocity patterns, and the model cofficients used to recover the model. The recovery program from coefficients to model values can be downloaded here . For our users of the older version (1987), the recovery program is the same as before. You would only need to have new coefficients corresponding to given By and Bz values or Kp and By values.


  • Realtime convection pattern estimate
  • Interactive online model
  • Movies

    References

    Zhang, S.-R., J. M. Holt, and M. McReady, High latitude convection model based on long-term incoherent scatter radar observations in North America, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 69, 1273-1291, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2006.08.017, 2007 PDF