First results of the THEMIS search coil magnetometers

O. Le Contel (1) , A. Roux (1) , P. Robert (1) , C. Coillot (1) , Abdel Bouabdellah (1) , B. de La Porte (1) , D. Alison (1) , Sébastien Ruocco (1) , V. Angelopoulos (2) , K. Bromund (3) , C.C. Chaston (4) , C. Cully (5) , H.U. Auster (6) , K.H. Glassmeier (6) , W. Baumjohann (7) , C.W. Carlson (4) , J.P. Mcfadden (4) , D. Larson (4)

1 CETP - Centre d'étude des environnements terrestre et planétaires
2 IGPP - Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics [Los Angeles]
3 SP Systems, Inc.
4 SSL - Space Sciences Laboratory [Berkeley]
5 LASP - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder]
6 IGEP - Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik [Braunschweig]
7 IWF - Space Research Institute of Austrian Academy of Sciences

We present the first data from the THEMIS Search Coil Magnetometers (SCM), taken between March and June 2007 while the THEMIS constellation apogee moved from the duskside toward the dawnside. Data reduction, especially the SCM calibration method and spurious noise reduction process, is described. The signatures of magnetic fluctuations in key magnetospheric regions such as the bow shock, the magnetopause and the magnetotail during a substorm, are described. We also discuss the role that magnetic fluctuations could play in plasma transport, acceleration and heating.

Mots clés: THEMIS; Solar wind; Shock; Magnetosheath; Magnetopause; Substorm; ULF/ELF magnetic waves

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Instrumentation et méthodes pour l'astrophysique [astro-ph.IM]; Instrumentation et méthodes pour l'astrophysique [astro-ph.IM]

O. Le Contel, A. Roux, P. Robert, C. Coillot, Abdel Bouabdellah, et al.. First results of the THEMIS search coil magnetometers. Space Science Reviews, 2008, 141 (1-4), pp.509-534. ⟨10.1007/s11214-008-9371-y⟩. ⟨hal-00364384⟩