Study of Magnetospheric Substorms : Present and Perspective

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We convened Chapman Conference on Magnetospheric Substorms during September 3-7, 1990, in Hakone, Japan. The study of magnetospheric substorms : present and perspective is compiled in the book "Magnetospheric Substorms", published by American Geophysical Union, 1991.Each chapter is organized with an intentional mixture of observational and theoretical papers on similar topics to emphasize the importance of the observation-simulation-theory closure. Of equal importance is the global connection in, substorm research. In the past, substorm research has focused on understanding the substorm signatures in the ionosphere and in the plasma sheet separately. Future progress may well depend on paying greater attention to the global connection between the ionosphere and the plasma sheet.In this volume the reader will find diametrically opposed views on the cause-and-effect relationships for substorm phenomena. For example, one of the key issues in substorm research today is the cause-and-effect … More relationship in the onset of substorm expansion. The long-standing controversy surrounding this issue was brought to light during the conference by calling attention to the following questions : (1) Is the formation of a near-Earth X line uniquely associated with the immediate cause or should it be considered an effect of the onset of substorm expansion? (2) Is the disruption of the cross-tail current the immediate cause or a consequence of the onset of substorm expansion? (3) Is the ionospheric response to an enhanced magnetospheric convection the immediate cause or a consequence of the onset of substorm expansion? An important step toward resolving these questions would be to determine the timing and relative locations of the three key events of a substorm : (1) the substorm expansion onset, as defined by the sudden brightening of the most equatorward arc ; (2) the disruption of the cross-tail current, as measured by the dipolarization of the magnetic configuration in the plasma sheet of the same substorm ; and (3) the formation of a near-Earth X line associated with the same substorm. Development of the substorm current wedge is another key issue that deserves greater attention.Substorm research is a fast-developing field. It is our hope that this volume will serve as the leading reference in pointing the direction for future research. We believe that significant progress will be made in future substorm research by emphasizing the global connection between the ionosphere and the plasma sheet and the observation-simulation-theory closure. This conference has certainly served its purpose by bringing all of the magnetospheric substorm expertise in the world together. Less