Comparative Analysis of Stormtime Ring Currents Under Extreme Solar Wind Conditions

Several recent magnetic superstorms (6 April 2000, 15 July 2000 and 31 March 2001) are numerically and observationally analyzed to understand the response of the ring current to extreme values of southward IMF Bz. Simulations of these events were carried out using the Michigan ring current drift-loss model (RAM) driven by dynamical fluxes at the nightside outer boundary based on observations. Plasma sheet distributions measured by satellites were used to specify the ring current source population and its variation during the events. Plasma sheet densities were elevated for all three events but reached their most extreme value (near 10 cm^-3) during the March 2001 superstorm which also had the largest ěrtminimum Dst^*ěrt. Convection electric fields within the inner magnetosphere were specified based on the McIlwain (1986) model scaled by the polar-cap potential (PCP) derived from DMSP observations. Shielding in the McIlwain model was parametrized based on the DMSP auroral boundary index (MBI). Maximum values of the DMSP PCP were < 250 kV for July 2000 and March 2001 compared to peak values near 600 kV predicted by linear parametrizations based on more moderate storms. It is clear that the relationship between the PCP and solar wind Ey changes dramatically during extreme events and this will have a major impact on ring current energization. We examine the relationship between convection strength (polar cap potential), ion source intensity (near-Earth plasma sheet flux), and ion source composition (H⁺ versus O⁺) to understand ring current dynamics and evolution during each of these events. Finally, we compare the differences and similarities in the magnetospheric responses to the three selected intervals of extreme solar wind conditions.