Field-aligned currents during IMF ∼ 0

We report on field-aligned currents (FAC) obtained from precise magnetic field measurements made onboard the Orsted and Magsat satellites when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was near zero. We found that Region 1/Region 2 currents persist through southward IMF, IMF similar to 0, and northward IMF; also the central area of both the northern and southern polar caps is always filled with FACs, even during slightly southward IMF. A statistical distribution of the latter currents resembles the dayside NBZ system with the downward/upward currents at post-noon/pre-noon hours, discovered earlier from Magsat observations. We hypothesize that the quasi-viscous interaction of the solar wind with the magnetospheric lobes may cause a sunward convection of the lobes' field lines through the bunch's core, effectively mapping the FACs of NBZ-type down to the near-pole area.