Abstract
Abstract. A detailed analysis of successive tailward flow bursts in the near-Earth magnetotail (X~−19 RE) plasma sheet is performed on the basis of in-situ multi-point observations by the Cluster spacecraft on 15 September 2001. The tailward flows were detected during a northward IMF interval, 2.5 h after a substorm expansion. Each flow burst (Vx<300 km/s) was associated with local auroral activation. Enhancements of the parallel and anti-parallel ~1 keV electron flux were detected during the flows. The spacecraft configuration enables to monitor the neutral sheet (Bx≈0) and the level of Bx≈10–15 nT simultaneously, giving a possibility to distinguish between closed plasmoid-like structures and open NFTE-like surges. The data analysis shows NFTE-like structures and localized current filaments embedded into the tailward plasma flow. 3-D shapes of the structures were reconstructed using the four-point magnetic filed measurements and the particle data.
Highlights
Several to ten minutes-long fast flows in the magnetotail, known as bursty bulk flows (BBFs, Angelopoulos et al, 1992), are observed to be predominantly Earthward in the near-Earth magnetotailand mainly tailward beyond this distance (Nagai et al, 1998b; Baumjohann et al, 1999)
Southward magnetic field tailward of current disruption (CD), produced by local generation of dawnward current, may lead to tailward bulk flow (Lui et al, 2006). Another possible mechanism of the near-Earth CD involves a development of the ballooning instability at the inner edge of the plasma sheet (Roux et al, 1991; Voronkov, 2005; Roux et al, 2006)
Distinct auroral activations, corresponding to the tailward flow bursts observed in the plasma sheet, were detected by the CANOPUS stations and the IMAGE satellite
Summary
Several to ten minutes-long fast flows in the magnetotail, known as bursty bulk flows (BBFs, Angelopoulos et al, 1992), are observed to be predominantly Earthward in the near-Earth magnetotail (radial downtail distances R
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