On the causes of plasmaspheric rotation variability: IMAGE EUV observations

IMAGE EUV observations demonstrate that the plasmasphere usually does not corotate as assumed in simple convection models, even at low L shells. We carry out a statistical survey of plasmaspheric rotation rates over several months of IMAGE EUV data in 2001, using two different measurement techniques. We test the prevailing hypothesis, that subcorotation is due to enhanced auroral zone Joule heating driving equatorward thermospheric winds, by testing for correlation of rotation rates with several geomagnetic indices. Azimuthal features such as “notches” are tracked in local time over a single pass of the IMAGE satellite, both visually and using an automated cross‐correlation routine. Each technique provides an estimate of the plasmasphere's rotation rate. We find a weak correlation between rotation rate and Dst , Kp , AE , the midnight boundary index (MBI), and Joule heating estimates from assimilative mapping of ionospheric electrodynamics (AMIE) at L = 2.5, but not at L = 3.5. In general, lower rotation rates correspond to higher auroral and geomagnetic activity. We also make the first direct observation of plasmaspheric superrotation. The plasmaspheric rotation rate is found to be highly variable on multiday timescales, but the typical state of the plasmasphere is subcorotation, with inferred mean values ranging from 88% to 95% of corotation, depending on L shell. In addition, a statistical analysis shows that rotation rates near dusk are generally lower than those at dawn, suggesting that local time and magnetospheric convection contribute to the variation in rotation rate as well. We conclude that the cause of variability in plasmaspheric rotation rate is a combination of storm phase, local‐time‐dependent convection, and westward ionospheric drift.