Space Weather: Investigation of Substorm Trigger, Onset Location, and Intensity

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The investigators will study magnetospheric substorms using data from the Polar, Geotail, IMP 8, and GOES satellites as well as ground-based observations. Specific research topics include (1) the substorm triggering mechanism, (2) the spatial extent and structure of the magnetotail stretching at geosynchronous altitude, (3) substorm onset location as influenced by solar wind conditions, the relationship between the pre-onset magnetotail stretching and substorm intensity, and (5) magnetotail signatures at geosynchronous orbit prior to pseudo-breakups. The study takes advantage of the high-quality data collected during the International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program. The investigators will establish a data base of observations and conduct statistical studies. Substorms play a central role in the dynamics of Earth's magnetosphere. Understanding substorm triggering is one of the key roadblocks in predicting Space Weather.