A case study of upstream wave transmission to the ground at polar and low latitudes

Abstract

In this study we analyzed a long-duration ULF wave event detected on 18–19 February 2005 by Cluster satellites, upstream of the nose of the bow shock. The availability of simultaneous data from Geotail satellite, located in the foreshock region close to the dawn flank of the bow shock, allowed us to make a comparison between the observations at the two different sites. The results can be explained in terms of local wave generation, depending on the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field with respect to the local bow shock normal. In addition, simultaneous data from Polar satellite in the inner magnetosphere and from ground stations in the southern polar cap and at low latitude allowed us to investigate the transmission of the external waves through the magnetosphere up to the ground. The observations suggest different paths of transmission. Waves generated upstream of the bow shock nose directly transmit near the subsolar point, progressively propagate into the magnetosphere and, after conversion into field-guided Alfven modes, reach the ground at high and low latitudes; waves generated on the flanks of the bow shock do not affect the subsolar magnetosphere, and consequently, there is no propagation along the closed field lines at both high and low latitudes. On the other hand, near the geomagnetic pole, the occurrence of pulsations can be related to the transmission across the magnetopause flanks of upstream waves, anywhere generated, as they are convected downstream by the solar wind; the compressional waves do not propagate deeply into the tail lobes but can couple to Alfven-guided waves along the outermost field lines.