Studies of paleomagnetospheric processes: Structure and dynamics of the geomagnetic environment in space during polarity transitions

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Earth`s magnetosphere is mainly controlled by the interaction of the supersonic solar wind with the dipolar component of the internal geomagnetic field. Polarity transitions thus have a large effect on its structure and its dynamics. Preliminary studies showed that the locations of boundary layers and current systems change significantly and that external variations become stronger and more frequent. We aim at a detailed investigation of the influence of decreasing dipole strength and increasing higher order multipole moments on magnetospheric structure and dynamics. Theoretical concepts of present day`s magnetosphere will be applied and generalised to the paleo situation. Three-dimensional MHD simulations will be analysed to yield parametric magnetic field models. Such models are required as input to treat high-energy particle kinetics in the geomagnetic environment. The resulting particle fluxes provide a basis for models of nuclid production in Earth`s atmosphere as well as models of ozon depletion.