2026-10-06T05:22:48Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34039689 2026-10-01T05:43:13Z category_57 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Data Sheet 1_Solar wind driving and magnetospheric preconditioning during omega band substorm events.pdf Vivian Cribb (25153044) Tuija Pulkkinen (25153047) Larry Kepko (14099598) Bea Gallardo-Lacourt (5224916) Robert McPherron (3766867) James Weygand (25153050) Xiangning Chu (3766864) Cosmology aurora high speed flow magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling omega band solar wind driving stream interaction region substorm substorm current wedge <p>Omega bands are mesoscale structures in the auroral oval that appear during periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity. Omega band formation has previously been associated with highly localized drivers in the magnetotail and global compression regions in the solar wind. However, the identifying characteristics and magnetospheric preconditioning of substorms containing omega bands have never been quantified. We compare the solar wind driving, inner magnetospheric current systems, and magnetospheric preconditioning during 324 omega band substorms from 2005 to 2015 to the same parameters measured during 324 random substorms of similar magnitude. We find that omega band substorms are driven by solar wind characterized by enhanced interplanetary magnetic field and high proton density. In the inner magnetosphere, we find that omega band structures typically occur inside or on the eastward edge of the substorm current wedge. Nontrivial differences between the magnetospheric preconditioning for omega band substorms and typical substorms suggest that omega band substorms are preceded by activation of an inner magnetosphere current system during increased compression of the dayside magnetopause. Our results indicate the importance of large-scale solar wind drivers and magnetospheric preconditioning to the study of mesoscale auroral forms.</p> 2026-10-01T05:43:13Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fspas.2026.1953664.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Sheet_1_Solar_wind_driving_and_magnetospheric_preconditioning_during_omega_band_substorm_events_pdf/34039689 CC BY 4.0