Solar Wind Driving of the Stormtime Ring Current

We present results describing the solar wind driving of the ring current. Results have shown that much of the behavior of the ring current is related to conditions in the solar wind, and in particular, shows reasonable agreement with the epsilon parameter. Recent results suggest that during times of more intense driving by the solar wind, the kinetic energy flux from the solar wind may have a stonger effect than previously believed. Other work shows a relationship between the type of solar wind driver and the energy deposited in the auroral ionosphere. In this study we examine several storms of various intensities to determine the response of the stormtime ring current to different driving conditions and different coupling mechanisms from the solar wind.