Pulsating of the generalized ion and neutral polar winds

A three-dimensional, time-dependent model of the ion and neutral polar winds was used to study their dynamic evolution during the May 4, 1998 magnetic storm. The simulation tracked the dynamics of five species (O+, H+, Hs, Os, and electrons) and covered a 9-h period. During the storm, Dst decreased to −210 nT, Ap reached 300, and Kp was elevated. The IMF Bz component was southward at the start of the storm and for several hours thereafter and then turned northward. However, the magnetospheric energy input to the ionosphere exhibited a 50-min oscillation, with the plasma convection and particle precipitation patterns expanding and contracting in a periodic manner. As a consequence, the ion and neutral polar winds pulsated with an approximate 50-min period. The H+ and O+ ions displayed cyclic upflows and downflows in the topside ionosphere as well as a highly structured spatial distribution that varied with time. The vertical flux of the neutral Hs atoms was upward at the top of the ionosphere, but the magnitude varied in a cyclic manner in response to the oscillating stormtime energy input. The vertical flux of neutral Os atoms was downward at the top of the ionosphere and varied significantly with the stormtime energy input. For H+, O+, and Hs, the maximum total (integrated) vertical flux during the storm was upward at the top of the ionosphere, with values of 8–9×1025 particles/s for H+, 2–4×1026 particles/s for O+, and 2–3×1027 particles/s for Hs. The corresponding total vertical Os flux was predominately downward, with only localized areas with positive fluxes.