A tangent subsolar merging line

Abstract

A global magnetospheric model is described with a single subsolar merging line whose position is determined neither locally by the relative orientations and strengths of the merging fields nor globally by the orientation of a separator line (the governing parameters of most previous models) but by the condition of tangential contact between the external field and the magnetopause. Attention is given to the case of finite leakage and partial penetration, which distort the IMF into a draped pattern, thus changing the locus of tangency to the sphere. In the special case where the penetrating IMF flux is balanced by an equal amount of earth flux leakage, the tangent merging line bisects the angle between the IMF and earth's northward subsolar field. This result is identical to the local merging line model result for merging fields with equal magnitude. Here, a global flux balance condition replaces the local equal magnitude condition.