Articles | Volume 36, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1073-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-36-1073-2018
Regular paper
 | 
08 Aug 2018
Regular paper |  | 08 Aug 2018

Statistical survey of day-side magnetospheric current flow using Cluster observations: bow shock

Evelyn Liebert, Christian Nabert, and Karl-Heinz Glassmeier

Data sets

Cluster Active Archive: Overview H. Laakso, C. Perry, S. McCaffrey, D. Herment, A. J. Allen, C. C. Harvey, C. P. Escoubet, C. Gruenberger, M. G. G. T. Taylor, and R. Turner https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3499-1_1

Short summary
At the bow shock the solar wind is slowed down in front of Earth's magnetosphere. This is accompanied by a gain in strength of the magnetic field, which implies that the bow shock carries electric currents. We present the a comprehensive statistical study of bow shock currents making use of multi-point data collected by Cluster spacecraft. We find that the currents depend on the shock geometry and the interplanetary magnetic field and are in good accordance with theory and simulation results.