Steady Magnetospheric Convection Events: A statistical analysis

Periods of enhanced magnetospheric convection without substorm signatures have been called Steady Magnetospheric Convection events (SMC). We have recently started investigating SMCs under the hypothesis that during these events dayside and nightside reconnection rates will balance. When this occurs the poleward auroral boundary, as measured by Polar UVI and IMAGE FUV images, should remain steady. If the boundary is steady for 3 hours or more and we see no substorm signatures, then the reconnection rates are fairly well balanced and we have an SMC. We have used this methodology to pick out SMC during all seasons for 8 years of data (1997-2004). We will use these events to study to solar wind/IMF driver, Dst, auroral activity, and the balance of reconnection rates. Thus far, our initial results show that SMCs can occur during many levels of storm time activity but mostly happen during weaker activity (avg. Dst ~-50). Our solar wind and IMF drivers concur with past research with an average IMF Bz of -5 nT. We have also found various degrees of balance between the nightside and dayside reconnection rates, in that some of our events show a slow loading of the tail, up to 8 hours, before a substorm occurs. One of our most interesting results is that not all of our SMCs start and end with substorms.