Extreme Localized Geoelectric Fluctuations in Global Magnetospheric Simulations

Abstract

Driven by particle ejections from the Sun, magnetic storms create global geomagnetic field fluctuations which in turn produce geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) in ground-based systems. The space weather community has recently identified localized, short-lived high-magnitude geoelectric field enhancements that create large GICs over small spatial scales. Our goal is to determine whether the existing global magnetospheric modeling codes produce these localized geoelectric field enhancements. We examine the outputs of the SWMF, OpenGGCM, and LFM simulations of the 2003 Halloween storms. We then use the simulations to determine what physical processes are driving the local field enhancements. Preliminary results reveal that only the SWMF code reproduces the localizations. This difference is potentially due to its ionospheric conductance model, use of an adaptive grid, or lack of modeled dissipation. The physical driver of these enhancements is currently unclear.