Correlation between plasmapause position and solar wind parameters

The average plasmapause radial position is highly dependent on the electric field convection pattern in the inner magnetosphere. We present correlations relating the plasmapause position directly to interplanetary parameters. The plasmapause position is found to be strongly correlated with the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B-z component, IMF clock angle, and phi, a merging proxy. Delay in the plasmapause response to the arrival of both IMF B-z and IMF clock angle at Earth is found to be 180 min while the delay to the arrival of 0 is found to be 240 min. A relation is derived between IMF B-z, phi, and the plasmapause position. Avoiding the use of geomagnetic indices removes any requirement of knowledge of the current state or response of the magnetosphere. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.