Survey of the ULF wave Poynting vector near the Earth's magnetic equatorial plane

Abstract

Ultralow frequency (ULF) waves transfer energy in the Earth's magnetosphere through a variety of mechanisms that impact the Earth's ionosphere, radiation belts, and other plasma populations. Measurements of the electromagnetic portion of the energy transfer rate are an important source of information for assessing the importance of ULF waves relative to other energy transfer mechanisms as well as a diagnostic for studying the behavior of ULF waves. Using Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms satellite data, we examine the time‒averaged electromagnetic energy transfer rate, or Poynting vector, as a function of frequency and region of the magnetosphere; for this study, we focus on the direction and rate of energy transfer relative to the background magnetic field, comparing perpendicular and parallel transfer rates. This study extends earlier studies of the ULF wave Poynting vector that focused on narrower frequency ranges or specific regions of the magnetosphere; here we consider the 3–50 mHz frequency range, all local time sectors, radial distances from 3 to 13 Re, and magnetic latitudes close to the equatorial plane. We measure time‒averaged Poynting vectors that range from 10−11 to 10−5 W/m2 , with larger Poynting vector magnitudes occurring at larger radial distances and smaller frequencies. In every spatial region and frequency we examined, we found a large degree of scatter in both the Poynting vector magnitude and direction. The Poynting vector tends to be anisotropic at all frequencies, with more energy transferred along rather than across the background magnetic field. This preference for parallel energy transfer near the magnetic equator suggests that Joule dissipation in the ionosphere and the acceleration of auroral electrons are the largest sinks of ULF wave energy in the magnetosphere.