Correlation between plasmapause position and solar wind parameters

The average plasmapause radial position is highly dependent on the electric field convection pattern in the inner magnetosphere. We present correlations relating the plasmapause position directly to interplanetary parameters. The plasmapause position is found to be strongly correlated with the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) BzBz component, IMF clock angle, and φφ, a merging proxy. Delay in the plasmapause response to the arrival of both IMF BzBz and IMF clock angle at Earth is found to be 180min while the delay to the arrival of φφ is found to be 240min. A relation is derived between IMF BzBz, φφ, and the plasmapause position. Avoiding the use of geomagnetic indices removes any requirement of knowledge of the current state or response of the magnetosphere.