Ionospheric Joule heating during magnetic storms: MHD simulations

The aim of this work is to examine ionospheric Joule heating during magnetic storms using global magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations of the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere. Of particular interest are recent results that indicate a link between solar wind density and Joule heating during magnetic storms. The MHD simulation uses solar wind data as a boundary condition, so that actual events are modeled. Among the events that were modeled are the January 1997 and September 1998 storms. The MHD dissipation rates were compared with those estimated from AE in order to benchmark the simulation