Shock propagation in the magnetosphere: Observations and MHD simulations compared

Abstract

We examine the propagation of disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by fast forward shock interaction with the magnetopause. Our statistical study and event analyses show that the propagation speeds are larger in the magnetosphere than in the solar wind and are larger in the nightside magnetosphere than in the dayside magnetosphere. A case study of a double shock during 9 November 2002 is examined both observationally and using the GUMICS-4 global MHD simulation. Tracing the disturbance propagation allows us to confirm that the MHD simulation results are in good agreement with the in situ observations. The simulation results show that the propagation of the disturbance occurs in the antisunward direction at all clock angles simultaneously. However, changes in the magnetosheath are largest at high latitudes, while in the magnetotail the largest variations are seen in the plasma sheet. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.