Dipolarizing flux bundles (DFBs) have been suggested to transport energy and momentum from regions of reconnection in the magnetotail to the high latitude ionosphere, where they can generate localized ionospheric currents that can produce large nighttime geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs). In this study we identified DFBs observed in the midnight sector from ~7 to ~10 RE by THEMIS A, D, and E during days in 2015-2017 whose northern hemisphere magnetic footpoints mapped to regions near Hudson Bay, Canada, and have compared them to GMDs observed by ground magnetometers. We found six days during which one or more of these DFBs coincided within ± 3 min with ≥ 6 nT/s GMDs observed by latitudinally closely spaced ground-based magnetometers located near those footpoints. Spherical elementary current systems (SECS) maps and all-sky imager data provided further characterization of two events, showing short-lived localized intense upward currents, auroral intensifications and/or streamers, and vortical perturbations of a westward electrojet. On all but one of these days the coincident DFB – GMD pairs occurred during intervals of high-speed solar wind streams but low values of SYM/H. In some events, in which the DFBs were observed closer to Earth and with lower Earthward velocities, the GMDs occurred slightly earlier than the DFBs, suggesting that braking had begun before the time of the DFB observation. This study is the first to connect spacecraft observations of DFBs in the magnetotail to intense (>6 nT/s) GMDs on the ground, and the results suggest DFBs could be an important driver of GICs.

Extreme (≥ 20 nT/s) geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs, also denoted as MPEs - magnetic perturbation events) – impulsive nighttime disturbances with time scale ~5-10 min, have sufficient amplitude to cause bursts of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) that can damage technical infrastructure. In this study we present occurrence statistics for extreme GMD events from five stations in the MACCS and AUTUMNX magnetometer arrays in Arctic Canada at magnetic latitudes ranging from 65° to 75°. We report all large (≥ 6 nT/s) and extreme GMDs from these stations from 2011 through 2022 to analyze variations of GMD activity over a full solar cycle and compare them to those found in three earlier studies. GMD activity between 2011 and 2022 did not closely follow the sunspot cycle, but instead was lowest during its rising phase and maximum (2011-2014) and highest during the early declining phase (2015-2017). Most of these GMDs, especially the most extreme, were associated with high-speed solar wind streams (Vsw > 600 km/s) and steady solar wind pressure. All extreme GMDs occurred within 80 min after substorm onsets, but few within 5 min. Multistation data often revealed a poleward progression of GMDs, consistent with a tailward retreat of the magnetotail reconnection region. These observations indicate that extreme GIC hazard conditions can occur for a variety of solar wind drivers and geomagnetic conditions, not only for fast-coronal mass ejection driven storms.

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are believed to cause the loss of relativistic electrons from the outer radiation belt into the atmosphere due to pitch angle scattering. However, it is still unclear whether all EMIC waves can scatter relativistic electrons or which conditions are favorable for pitch angle scattering by EMIC waves. In this study, we performed a two-year data analysis of EMIC waves and relativistic electron precipitation (REP) caused by EMIC waves, from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2018. EMIC waves were observed using a ground-based magnetometer installed at Athabasca (ATH), Canada. REP events were identified from very low-frequency radio waves propagated from the transmitters at the NDK and NLK stations (North Dakota and Seattle, USA, respectively) to the receiver installed at ATH. The magnetic local time dependence of EMIC waves showed higher occurrence rates in the dawn sector. In contrast, EMIC waves accompanied by REP were localized in the dusk sector and were likely to occur during geomagnetic substorms. We found that EMIC waves accompanied by REP were associated with the main phase of geomagnetic storms and occurred inside the plasmapause. These results suggest that the EMIC waves that cause REP occur in the overlap region between the ring current and dense cold plasma during the main phase of geomagnetic storms. This is consistent with previous studies describing that the electron resonant energy with EMIC waves is lower in regions with high plasma density.

Rapid changes of magnetic fields associated with nighttime magnetic perturbation events (MPEs) with amplitudes |ΔB| of hundreds of nT and 5-10 min periods can induce geomagnetically-induced currents (GICs) that can harm technological systems. In this study we compare the occurrence and amplitude of nighttime MPEs with |dB/dt| ≥ 6 nT/s observed during 2015 and 2017 at five stations in Arctic Canada ranging from 75.2° to 64.7° in corrected geomagnetic latitude (MLAT) as functions of magnetic local time (MLT), the SME and SYM/H magnetic indices, and time delay after substorm onsets. Although most MPEs occurred within 30 minutes after a substorm onset, ~10% of those observed at the four lower latitude stations occurred over two hours after the most recent onset. A broad distribution in local time appeared at all 5 stations between 1700 and 0100 MLT, and a narrower distribution appeared at the lower latitude stations between 0200 and 0700 MLT. There was little or no correlation between MPE amplitude and the SYM/H index; most MPEs at all stations occurred for SYM/H values between -40 and 0 nT. SME index values for MPEs observed more than 1 hour after the most recent substorm onset fell in the lower half of the range of SME values for events during substorms, and dipolarizations in synchronous orbit at GOES 13 during these events were weaker or more often nonexistent. These observations suggest that substorms are neither necessary nor sufficient to cause MPEs, and hence predictions of GICs cannot focus solely on substorms.

Microbursts are impulsive (<1s) injections of electrons (few keV to >MeV) from the outer radiation belt into the atmosphere, primarily caused by nonlinear scattering by chorus waves. Although attempts have been made to quantify their contribution to outer belt electron loss, the uncertainty in the overall size and duration of the microburst region is typically large, so that their contribution to outer belt loss is uncertain. We combine datasets that measure chorus waves (Van Allen Probes (RBSP), Arase, ground-based VLF stations) and microburst (>30 keV) precipitation (FIREBIRD II and AC6 CubeSats, POES/MetOp) to determine the size of the microburst-producing chorus source region beginning on 5 December 2017. We show that the lower/upper limits on the long-lasting (~30 hours) microburst precipitation region is 4 to 8 MLT and 2 to 8.5 L. We conclude that microbursts likely represent a major loss source of outer radiation belt electrons for this event.

We present the first comparative statistical study of subauroral arc detachment from the main auroral oval at Athabasca (magnetic latitude = 61.5°N), Canada, for three different types of subauroral arcs: pure red arc, red arc with simultaneous emission in green-line (red+green arc), and STEVE (strong thermal emission velocity enhancement). Based on 15-years (2006-2020) of all-sky imaging observations, this study not only uncovers the occurrence characteristics of different arcs but also provides important insights into the specific geomagnetic conditions under which STEVE develops. Red arc was the most common subauroral arc (139 events), followed by red+green arc (42 events), and STEVE (26 events) was a rare phenomenon. The detachment rate of red and red+green arcs exhibits dependence on both the solar flux and geomagnetic activity. The detachment rate of STEVE was higher during premidnight, whereas red and red+green arcs were higher around the midnight sector. The geomagnetic activity was relatively higher for STEVE, the decrease in the AL index and local X-component magnetic variations were ~2-3 times higher for STEVE as compared to other arcs. STEVE shows a strong association with asymmetric ring current in terms of prominent bay-like enhancement in ASY-H index prior to the STEVE detachment. Such bay-like enhancement was ~4 times higher for STEVE as compared to other arcs. STEVE events were accompanied by dispersionless injection for both electron and proton flux at the geosynchronous orbit. These results unambiguously suggest that STEVE develops after the substorm associated energy injection and significant intensification of asymmetric ring current.

Rapid changes of magnetic fields associated with nighttime magnetic perturbation events (MPEs) with amplitudes |ΔB| of hundreds of nT and 5-10 min duration can induce geomagnetically-induced currents (GICs) that can harm technological systems. Here we present superposed epoch analyses of large nighttime MPEs (|dB/dt| ≥ 6 nT/s) observed during 2015 and 2017 at five stations in Arctic Canada ranging from 64.7° to 75.2° in corrected geomagnetic latitude (MLAT) as functions of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), solar wind dynamic pressure, density, and velocity, and the SML, SMU, and SYM/H geomagnetic activity indices. Analyses were produced for premidnight and postmidnight events and for three ranges of time after the most recent substorm onset: A) 0-30 min, B) 30-60 min, and C) >60 min. Of the solar wind and IMF parameters studied, only the IMF Bz component showed any consistent temporal variations prior to MPEs: a 1-2 hour wide 1-3 nT negative minimum at all stations beginning ~30 to 80 min before premidnight MPEs, and minima that were less consistent but often deeper before postmidnight MPEs. Median, 25th, and 75th percentile SuperMAG auroral indices SML (SMU) showed drops (rises) before pre- and post-midnight type A MPEs, but most of the MPEs in categories B and C did not coincide with large-scale peaks in ionospheric electrojets. Median SYM/H indices were flat near -30 nT for premidnight events and showed no consistent temporal association with any MPE events. More disturbed values of IMF Bz, Psw, Nsw, SML, SMU, and SYM/H appeared postmidnight than premidnight.

The rapid changes of magnetic fields associated with nighttime magnetic perturbations with amplitudes |ΔB| of hundreds of nT and 5-10 min periods can induce bursts of geomagnetically-induced currents that can harm technological systems. Recent studies of these events in eastern Arctic Canada, based on data from four ground magnetometer arrays and augmented by observations from auroral imagers and high-altitude spacecraft in the nightside magnetosphere, showed them to be highly localized, with largest |dB/dt| values within a ~275 km half-maximum radius that was associated with a region of shear between upward and downward field-aligned currents, and usually but not always associated with substorms. In this study we look in more detail at the field-aligned currents associated with these events using AMPERE data, and compare the context and characteristics of events not associated with substorms (occurring from 60 min to over two days after the most recent substorm onset) to those occurring within 30 min of onset. Preliminary results of this comparison, based on events with |dB/dt|≥ 6 nT/s observed during 2015 and 2017 at Repulse Bay (75.2° CGMLAT), showed that the SYM/H distributions for both categories of events were similar, with 85% between -40 and 10 nT, and the SME values during non-substorm events coincided with the lower half of the range of SME values for events during substorms (200 – 700 nT). Dipolarizations of ≥ 20 nT amplitude at GOES 13 occurred within 45 minutes prior to 73% of the substorm events but only 29% of the non-substorm events. These observations suggest that predictions of GICs cannot focus solely on the occurrence of intense substorms.