ECLAT Cluster Spacecraft Magnetotail Plasma Region Identifications (2001–2009)

Abstract

The European Space Agency’s four-spacecraft Cluster mission has been observing the Earth’s dynamical magnetotail region since early 2001. The magnetotail, and in particular the hot trapped plasma sheet, is a critical region in the coupled Sun-Earth system. Changes in the solar wind have direct influence on the properties and dynamical processes occurring in this region, which in turn directly influence operational near-Earth space, the upper atmosphere, and even induce large-scale currents in the ground. As part of the European Cluster Assimilation Technology (ECLAT) project, a magnetotail plasma region dataset has been produced to facilitate magnetospheric research and further our understanding of the important processes linking the solar wind-magnetospheric-ionospheric system. The dataset consists of a comprehensive list of plasma regions encountered in the nightside magnetosphere of the Earth by each of the four Cluster spacecraft in the years 2001–2009. The regions identified are those where major energy transport/conversion processes take place and are important regions for system level science. Characteristic averaged parameters describing the behavior of each region are provided for further understanding. The dataset facilitates the use of the large repository of Cluster data by the wider scientific community.