A new perspective and explanation for the formation of plasmaspheric shoulder structures

Zhang, Hua; Peng, Guangshuai; Shen, Chao; Wu, Yewen

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-701-2021

Articles | Volume 39, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-701-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-701-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 39, issue 4

Regular paper

|

20 Jul 2021

Regular paper |

| 20 Jul 2021

A new perspective and explanation for the formation of plasmaspheric shoulder structures

Hua Zhang, Guangshuai Peng, Chao Shen, and Yewen Wu

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Final revised paper (published on 20 Jul 2021)
Preprint (discussion started on 28 Dec 2020)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC1: 'A New Perspective and Explanation to the Formation of Plasmaspheric Shoulder Structure', Anonymous Referee #1, 01 Jan 2021
- AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Hua Zhang, 09 Mar 2021
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Hua Zhang, 09 Mar 2021
RC2: 'Review of “A New Perspective and Explanation to the Formation of Plasmaspheric Shoulder Structure”, authored by Hua Zhang et al.', Anonymous Referee #2, 16 Jan 2021
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Hua Zhang, 09 Mar 2021
- AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Hua Zhang, 09 Mar 2021

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

ED: Reconsider after major revisions (further review by editor and referees) (16 Mar 2021) by Wen Li

AR by Hua Zhang on behalf of the Authors (16 Mar 2021) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript

ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (17 Mar 2021) by Wen Li

RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (02 Apr 2021)

Suggestions for revision or reasons for rejection

I want to thank the authors for the efforts to address my comments. There are, however, some concerns that remain unresolved.

1.
AR (1) 'I agree with the advice and have revised this problem in my manuscript. We will call for a professional company to polish the manuscript before formal publication.'
AC (1) 'Please understand my difficulties.'
I understand the difficulties and efforts needed to correct the manuscript. However, it should be noted that the formal rating of the manuscript includes 'Is the language fluent and precise?' It is the reviewer's responsibility to ensure that the language meets the requirement of the journal.
Before reaching out to the 'professional company,' it is highly recommended that the authors carefully proofread the manuscript. Besides, there are free grammatical softwares (e.g., Grammarly).
2.
AR (2). The paper's main conclusion is that the convection electric field changed the trajectory and rotation rate, which resulted in a Shoulder structure. The TPM model is used to support this conclusion. Therefore, the following observations/data are essential to prove this conclusion: 1. The electric field should be shown. 2. The plasmasphere from the TPM model. 3. A comparison between the TPM model and real observations.
The authors kept the origin Figure 3 and added supplementary figures of the raw IMAGE/EUV. However, items 1 and 3 are still missing, making the manuscript unconvincing. It is necessary to show the electric field's evolution, the plasmapause from the TPM model, and the real IMAGE/EUV observation. The authors can refer to the figures in the following references.
Goldstein, J., Wolf, R. A., Sandel, B. R., & Reiff, P. H. (2004). Electric fields deduced from plasmapause motion in IMAGE EUV images. Geophysical Research Letters, 31(1), L01801. doi:10.1029/2003GL018797
Goldstein, J., Pascuale, S., & Kurth, W. S. (2019). Epoch-Based Model for Stormtime Plasmapause Location. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124(6), 4462-4491. doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA025996

3.
AR (3) Since the feature of a double plume is neither demonstrated nor observed in this manuscript, I recommend it not emphasized in the abstract.

4.
Figure 4 and RC 6. AC7.
Figure 4 is still confusing to me. What do the colors mean in Figure 4b? Do they represent the test particles at different L shells (as answered in AC7)? The colors in Figure 4b should be corrected because they are not the same as the color bar in Figure 4a.
Figure 4a shows the trajectory of 14 test particles, which have different rotation rates according to Figure 4b. On the other hand, if the x-axis is both time-dependent (UT) and MLT-dependent, does it mean that these particles are co-rotating with the Earth (thus a fixed rotating rate).

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RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (19 Apr 2021)

ED: Publish subject to revisions (further review by editor and referees) (28 Apr 2021) by Wen Li

AR by Hua Zhang on behalf of the Authors (01 Jun 2021) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript

ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (01 Jun 2021) by Wen Li

RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (05 Jun 2021)

ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (07 Jun 2021) by Wen Li

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to Annales Geophysicae. The referee finds your revised manuscript almost ready for publication. However, there are a couple of minor corrections needed to be made and the manuscript still needs substantial further editing (please find the selected list of suggested changes below, and there are many more!). We encourage you to proofread the manuscript carefully, revise your manuscript accordingly, and to upload the revised files and a marked-up manuscript version showing the changes made in your manuscript.

L28: plasmapause position moves closer
L31: study -> studies
L33: not explained -> did not explain
L35-38: grammar problem
L38: has less study -> has been less studied
L39: But, -> However,
L45: sudden decrease -> a sudden decrease
L47: trigger -> it triggers
L67: The Figure 1 -> Figure 1
L69: 15.05 -> 15:05
L70: Figure1 -> Figure 1
L74: Comparison of sequential observations
L75: keeping and corotating -> cororating
L94: calculation regions is -> calculation region is
L112: over -> from
L116: The simulation plasmapauses -> The simulated plasmapause
L117: particles distribution -> particle distribution
L118: in Fig.3, the simulated plasmapause -> in Fig. 3 indicates that the simulated plasmapause
L124: Contrary -> In contrast; better -> more
L137: origin -> original
L142: 8 June at 12:00 UT to 9 June at 09:00 UT 2001, and every three hours output a snapshot -> at 12:00 UT on 8 June to 09:00 UT on 9 June in 2001 with snapshots every three hours
L143: origin -> original
L145: Please delete “that”.
L164: convection -> convect
L169: slightly enhances -> is slightly enhanced
L178: , presented -> is presented
L183: And -> Moreover,
L185-186: The plume corotates with the Earth, becomes thinner, and …
L190: event, due to -> event is due to
L191: dose -> does
L195: sudden -> suddenly
L200: The Bz component of the IMF that turns northward could produce
L221: in the before 02:00 MLT sector -> before 02 MLT
L223: The shoulder forming across a at 03:00-06:00 MLT region -> The shoulder is forming across 03-06 MLT
L229-230: The simulation of this paper verifies the conclusions of Goldstein (2002) and Verbanac (2018).
L262: Please delete “And”.
L282: B-model are -> B-mode that are
L289: caused by the fact that outer plasmasphere drifts radially outward and rotates faster.
L290: Grammar problem (I don’t understand what you mean here).
L297: and we expect to obtain more reasonable results.

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AR by Hua Zhang on behalf of the Authors (10 Jun 2021) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript

ED: Publish as is (10 Jun 2021) by Wen Li

AR by Hua Zhang on behalf of the Authors (11 Jun 2021) Manuscript

Short summary

In this paper, we propose a new explanation for shoulder-like formations based on the test particle model. The simulation reproduced three shoulders in a substorm case. The physical explanation of shoulder formation is not yet understood. The paper suggests that the physical mechanism of shoulder formation is the result of plasma extrusion in the predawn sector, caused by the outer plasmasphere drifting radially outward and rotating faster.