Magnetopause erosion during the 17 March 2015 magnetic storm: Combined field-aligned currents, auroral oval, and magnetopause observations

Abstract

We present multimission observations of field-aligned currents, auroral oval, and magnetopause crossings during the 17 March 2015 magnetic storm. Dayside reconnection is expected to transport magnetic flux, strengthen field-aligned currents, lead to polar cap expansion and magnetopause erosion. Our multimission observations assemble evidence for all these manifestations. After a prolonged period of strongly southward interplanetary magnetic field, Swarm and AMPERE observe significant intensification of field-aligned currents. The dayside auroral oval, as seen by DMSP, appears as a thin arc associated with ongoing dayside reconnection. Both the field-aligned currents and the auroral arc move equatorward reaching as low as ∼60°magnetic latitude. Strong magnetopause erosion is evident in the in situ measurements of the magnetopause crossings by GOES 13/15 and MMS. The coordinated Swarm, AMPERE, DMSP, MMS and GOES observations, with both global and in situ coverage of the key regions, provide a clear demonstration of the effects of dayside reconnection on the entire magnetosphere.