Returning to the timing study, the line A
superposed on Figure 2
marks the start
of the increase in .
Many of the ground magnetometers
also show the onset of perturbations. The perturbations are gradual
until the time of line B, and thus they are consistent with the loading
phase of the substorm. The difference field,
,
at POLAR suggests that the
flux pileup continued during this interval.
We note there was a minimum around 0330-0337 UT
in the data from FCHU and PBQ.
(The Z component at FCHU also showed a general minimum,
with twin (negative) peaks around 0330 and 0337 UT, (not shown).)
However ESKI and GILL, adjacent stations of FCHU in the same meridional
chain, observed little peak-like perturbation. This feature suggests
that this minimum occurred only
within a limited range of latitudes including FCHU and PBQ, possibly
on a narrow auroral oval during the loading phase.
We note the Z component of the magnetometer data showed a small positive
perturbation at ESKI, a large negative perturbation at FCHU, and a small
negative perturbation at GILL (not shown). This also suggests that the
current was narrow, and was located between ESKI and GILL, and a little
north of FCHU.
We further
notice that at the POLAR spacecraft
there is a decrease in
and
around 0339 UT. This might be related with the above-mentioned small
ground activity, but particle data obtained by POLAR suggests a different
explanation, which will be discussed later.
Around 0408 UT (line B), FCHU and GILL recorded a sudden decrease in the
X
component. Lines C and D mark the following sudden decreases in the X
component at several stations (around 0435 and 0500 UT),
indicative of intensification of the
westward electrojet. Whether they all correspond to substorm onsets is an
important question, because they are not necessarily reflected in the
magnetic field at POLAR. The difference field, ,
at POLAR reached a maximum
around 0430 UT, and the interval 0312-0430 UT (78 min) is comparable
in length to
the interval 0301-0413 UT (72 min) when the IMF was largely southward
(see Figure 1).
It is therefore likely that the interval 0312-0430 UT corresponds to the
substorm loading phase.
(We note that we estimated above the time lag from INTERBALL-1 to the Earth
to have been
3 min, while the observed lag appears to be
11-17 min. This difference may come in part from the response
time of the magnetopause to a southward turning of the IMF.)
However, the electrojet intensification at
0408 UT (line B) preceded the 0430 UT field maximum at POLAR.
We interpret this
intensification at
0408 UT as the first onset signature of multiple
expansion onsets (lines B, C, and D); the interval 0408-0430 UT was in
the initial unloading phase, but the pileup of the magnetic flux onto the
polar magnetosphere continued, because the IMF was still southward.
It is possible that the time variation of BT in the polar magnetosphere
reflects the time variation of the energy input from the solar wind more
directly than in the magnetotail proper
where the effects of substorm onsets are
also apparent.
Another possible reason for the delay from the initial onset (line B) to
the maximum
at POLAR would be the propagation time delay of the
signal of the onset from the source region (in the near-Earth tail) to the
polar magnetosphere. However, as stated below, there is some difficulty
with this explanation.