Zoom-in to Plasmapause-Induced TEC Enhancement - April 2001 (Version 2)

  • Released Monday, December 5, 2005
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Space weather events which disturb the plasmapause (displayed here as a green surface enclosing the Earth) can propagate down to the Earth's ionosphere. There they enhance the ionosphere electron content which can disrupt radio signals from satellites. This movie is a variation on animation ID 3311 with slightly different camera motions. NOTE: This visualization shows the Earth's magnetic dipole field lines rotating rigidly with the Earth. Technically, this is inaccurate. Ions and electrons in the lower atmosphere can create currents which can make these lines 'drag' with Earth's rotation, but this will occur mostly near the Earth and not higher up. More details on this process can be found in the FAQ at the The Exploration of the Earth's Magnetosphere web site, Does the Earth's magnetic field rotate?.

An overview of the plasmasphere zooms in to the resulting electron enhancement.

An overview of the plasmasphere zooms in to the resulting electron enhancement (no dates).

Overview of the plasmasphere.

Overview of the plasmasphere.

Overview of the plasmasphere (no dates).

Overview of the plasmasphere (no dates).

Closeup view of electron content data before the plume passes.

Closeup view of electron content data before the plume passes.

Closeup view of the electron data before the plume passes (no dates).

Closeup view of the electron data before the plume passes (no dates).

Plasmasphere plume passes and we see the electron enhancement move across Canada and the U.S.

Plasmasphere plume passes and we see the electron enhancement move across Canada and the U.S.

Plasmasphere plume passes and we see the electron enhancement move across Canada and the U.S. (no dates)

Plasmasphere plume passes and we see the electron enhancement move across Canada and the U.S. (no dates)

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/cold_front_feature.html

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

This page was originally published on Monday, December 5, 2005.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:55 PM EDT.

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Related papers

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 110, A09S31, doi:10.1029/2004JA010928, 2005

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 110, A09S31, doi:10.1029/2004JA010928, 2005

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