Effect of multiple substorms on the buildup of the ring current

Abstract

The effect of magnetospheric substorms on the ring current is not completely understood. Using a combination of the University of Michigan's BAT-S-RUS Model and Fok Ring Current Model, we modeled the effects of multiple substorms on the ring current by modeling multiple dipolarizations in the tail. Increasing the number of substorms corresponds to increases in the number of injections into the ring current. The ionospheric potential increases during periods of southward IMF. Energy increases are more dependent on the duration of large ionospheric potential than the number of substorm dipolarizations. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.