[1] A typical Pi3 pulsation is examined by magnetic field measurements from multiple satellites and ground stations. Low-latitude ground observations with a wide longitudinal span indicate that the amplitude of the Pi3 pulsation peaks on the dayside and is gradually decreasing toward the nightside. This effect and the fact that the wave phase on the dayside leads that on the nightside, imply that the source of the Pi3 lies on the dayside. Variations in solar wind dynamic pressure observed by the GEOTAIL satellite (just outside of the magnetosphere) are highly correlated with these ground magnetic field variations. We argue in this case that the global Pi3 pulsation is directly driven by impulsive variations in the solar wind dynamic pressure. The Pi3 pulsation observed along the latitudinal magnetometer chain at 0930LT shows significant equatorial enhancement and additional observations along a latitudinal chain at 1630LT show that the phase of the Pi3 pulsation at high latitudes lags behind that at low latitudes. The low-altitude polar orbiting satellite Oersted also observed this pulsation in the dayside inner magnetosphere. The B k (northward) component at Oersted is strictly out of phase with the X component observed at the dip equator below the spacecraft path, which indicates that the Pi3 pulsation at the dip equator is caused by oscillation of an ionospheric current. We propose that the Pi3 pulsations at different latitudes are generated by different mechanisms.
[1] Oersted is a low-altitude (638-849 km) polar-orbiting satellite. Using vector magnetic field measurements obtained from Oersted, we identified more than 20 geomagnetic sudden commencement (SC) events on both dayside (0600-1800 MLT) and nightside (1800-0600 MLT). The unique properties reflected by these events have never been reported before. The SCs observed by Oersted in the B // (compressional) component on the nightside had the nearly same waveforms as those observed on the ground in the H (northward) component. We suggest that the SCs observed by Oersted on the nightside were dominantly caused by the enhanced magnetopause currents, which were transmitted by the compressional hydromagnetic waves, and the effects of the ionospheric current (IC) were negligible on the nightside. The SC waveforms observed by Oersted on the dayside were apparently different from those observed on the ground. Near the dayside dip equator (DDE), corresponding to preliminary reverse impulses (PRIs) observed in the ground H component, Oersted always observed positive impulses in the B // component, which suggest that the PRIs at the DDE are generated by westward ICs. On the dayside, corresponding to positive main impulses (MIs) of SCs observed in the ground H component, the Oersted B // component always presented clear decreases, which implies that an eastward IC was excited after the PRI. The generation mechanism for the westward and eastward ICs are discussed according to previously proposed models. On the dayside, we suggest that the waveforms observed both on the ground and at Oersted during the time period of PRI and MI were superposition of the incident compressional waves and the disturbance fields caused by the ICs. The features observed by Oersted just above the ionosphere are significant complementary to our empirical knowledge for SCs.
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