Studying the Magnetospheric Plasmas of Mercury and Earth using ULF Waves and Machine Learning

Abstract:

Ultra low frequency (ULF) waves are a key mechanism for the transmission of energy and information around planetary magnetospheres and whose unique characteristics are determined by their driving sources and the properties of the medium through which they permeate. In my talk I will discuss some of my recent work studying the magnetospheric plasmas of Earth and Mercury using both ULF waves and in-situ plasma data. I will discuss the use of magnetoseismology at Mercury, where observations of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) field line resonances (FLRs) were used to estimate plasma mass loading within Mercury’s dayside magnetosphere. I will also present work fitting and evaluating a new set of plasma moments to MESSENGER’s Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) data and their use to create a 3D model of Hermean protons. Finally I will talk about the Scalable Plasma Ion Composition and Electron Density (SPICED) model of Earths equatorial inner-magnetospheric plasma.