Global Energy Circulation During a Solar Wind Density Pulse

Date: November 17, 2025

Dataset Title: Simulations of pressure pulse during storm on February 3, 2022

Dataset Contact: Tuija Pulkkinen (tuija@umich.edu)

Dataset Creators: 
Name: Tuija Pulkkinen
Email: tuija@umich.edu
Institution: University of Michigan Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6317-381X

Name: Matti Ala-Lahti
Email: matti.ala-lahti@helsinki.fi
Institution: University of Helsinki, Department of Physics
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9574-339X

Funding: NASA 80NSSC23M0192 

Key Points:
- Pressure pulse impacts traverse through the magnetosphere within a few minutes
- Pulse triggers magnetotail flows that create large energy input into the inner magnetosphere 
- Ionospheric currents drive large geomagentically induced currents

Research Overview:
Large numerical models are critically important tools to predict the state of the near-Earth space environment. Here we examine one case where a large density pulse traverses through the magnetosphere. The pressure pulse was followed by large ground magnetic disturbances and geomagnetically induced currents in the dawn sector. We trace the energy flow through the system using methods developed by Brenner et al. (2021, 2023), which allow us to follow the energy entry and exit through the magnetopause as well as between the dayside and nightside, and between the tail lobe and plasma sheet. We associate the energy cycle with flows that bring substantial energy to the dawn sector inner magnetosphere, causing large auroral currents. 

Methodology:
We employ the Space Weather Modeling Framework Geospace simulation with the Conductance Model for Extreme Events (CMEE) to simulate the storm using two different spatial resolutions. We use the high-resolution run, which allows us to trace the energy flow in greater detail, to perform the analysis. 

Files contained here:

Input:
f107.txt gives the solar radio flux used as input in the model.
imf_lores.dat includes the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field values used as boundary condition for the simulation.
param_lores_init.in and param_lores.in give specification of the model run, with resolution, model setup, and other parameters. Software and details of how to set up the simulation can be obtained from the SWMF documentation in https://github.com/SWMFsoftware.
lores_grid_y0.png and lores_grid_z0.png illustrate the simulation spatially varying grid

Indices:
IE_t220202_050000.log gives the polar cap potential for northern and southern hemisphere
lores_geoindex.log gives several geomagnetic indices including K indices and AU/AL
lores_integrated_j.txt gives nothern-hemisphere integrated upward and downward field-aligned currents
lores_logfile_long.log gives model output parameters including Dst 

Energy:
The energy values are given in
mp_iso_betastar_surface.csv
mp_iso_betastar_volume.csv
mp_iso_betastarinnerbound_surface.csv
ms_closed_surface.csv
ms_closed_volume.csv
ms_lobes_surface.csv
ms_lobes_volume.csv
ms_plasmasheet_averages.csv
ms_plasmasheet_surface.csv
(see Brenner et al. JGR doi:10.1029/2023JA031899 for details)

Tail_y0, Tail_z0
2D cuts through the noon-midnight meridian / equatorial plane. 
The files give tail parameters as function of x and z / x and y

tail.mov gives the current sheet surface energy flux transport.

Use and Access:
This data set is made available under a Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

To Cite Data:
T. I. Pulkkinen, A. Brenner, M. Ala-Lahti, "Global Energy Circulation During a Solar Wind Density Pulse", 
Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.16995652