The response of the terrestrial bow shock and magnetopause of the long term decline in solar polar fields

TL;DR

This study analyzes four decades of data to show how long-term declines in solar polar magnetic fields have led to a steady increase in the Earth's magnetopause and bow shock stand-off distances, affecting space weather.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis linking long-term solar magnetic field decline to changes in Earth's magnetospheric boundary locations and shapes over four solar cycles.

Findings

Magnetopause and bow shock stand-off distances have increased since 1995.

The trend correlates with the decline in solar polar magnetic fields.

The study spans solar cycles 21-24, covering over four decades.

Abstract

The location of the terrestrial magnetopause (MP) and it's subsolar stand-off distance depends not only on the solar wind dynamic pressure and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), both of which play a crucial role in determining it's shape, but also on the nature of the processes involved in the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere. The stand-off distance of the earth's MP and bow shock (BS) also define the extent of terrestrial magnetic fields into near-earth space on the sunward side and have important consequences for space weather. However, asymmetries due to the direction of the IMF are hard to account for, making it nearly impossible to favour any specific model over the other in estimating the extent of the MP or BS. Thus, both numerical and empirical models have been used and compared to estimate the BS and MP stand-off distances as well as the MP shape, in the period Jan. 1975-Dec. 2016, covering solar cycles 21-24. The computed MP and BS stand-off distances have been found to be increasing steadily over the past two decades, since ~1995, spanning solar cycles 23 and 24. The increasing trend is consistent with earlier reported studies of a long term and steady decline in solar polar magnetic fields and solar wind micro-turbulence levels. The present study, thus, highlights the response of the terrestrial magnetosphere to the long term global changes in both solar and solar wind activity, through a detailed study of the extent and shape of the terrestrial MP and BS over the past four solar cycles, a period spanning the last four decades.