Openggcm Simulations of Energy Conversion in Dipolarization Fronts

Over the past few years results from the THEMIS mission have shown thatBursty Bulk Flows (BBFs) and the associated Dipolarization Fronts (DFs)are ubiquitous features of the tail plasma sheet. They also play a major rolein the transport of energy, plasma, and magnetic flux. However, their rolein converting energy is not entirely clear. DFs have been implicated as significant electromagnetic energy dissipation sites, thus competing with reconnection as a major energy conversion process.In this presentation we use global OpenGGCM simulations to assess the role that BBFs and DFs play in theenergy and entropy budget of the tail, and the relative importance of dissipationat DFs versus dissipation at reconnection sites.