Splinter Group - Chairs: Splinter Group – Chairs: Janet Kozyra (U. Mich.) and Ray Greenwald (JHU/APL)
Session Synopsis:
Dayside reconnection is the initial process by which outflowing solar wind plasma interacts with the Earth's magnetosphere. While the process has been qualitatively discussed since the beginnings of space exploration, the details of the physics of reconnection and its manifestations in the dayside magnetosphere and high-latitude ionosphere are still poorly understood. We do not, for example, fully understand the temporal variability of the reconnection process, nor its spatial extent on the surface of the magnetopause. The goal of this session is to use data from POLAR and other ISTP spacecraft, as well as ground-based instrumentation to study these issues. The session will consist of a few invited presentations reviewing our understanding of dayside reconnection processes as observed in the ionosphere and the high-altitude magnetosphere, followed by presentations of data from ISTP intervals identified as relevant to investigation of dayside reconnection and the cusp. While attention will be focused on cusp events studied at the April 1998 ISTP Workshop and the 1998 GEM Meeting, other periods of interest may be suggested for inclusion in the program.
Preliminary Events