The distribution of Birkeland currents in time and space

Abstract: Birkeland currents communicate information between the magnetopause and the rest of the magnetosphere, flowing along magnetic field lines at Earth. These currents which underpin solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, and are a key part of the mechanisms by which space weather impacts us on the Earth’s surface. I use observations from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE) to investigate the Birkeland currents on global scales with a decade of data. I will discuss how these currents are distributed both spatially and temporally, and demonstrate novel techniques which tell us about the behaviour of the system during different modes of driving, as well as giving us a better understanding of space weather impacts.