Effect of IMF Bᵧ on thermospheric composition at high and middle latitudes: 1. Numerical experiments

The purpose of this paper is to show how the high-latitude composition depends on the sign of the IMF Bᵧ component, using controlled simulations with a global first principles model. Because the high-latitude convection and neutral wind systems are strongly controlled by the IMF Bᵧ component, it seems likely that the compositional response that is driven by high-latitude forcing should also be sensitive to the Bᵧ component.

To date, no first-principles modeling has been performed to test the idea of IMF Bᵧ effects on composition. Numerical experiments using model simulations provide insight into this important scientific question, since the thermospheric compositional response to the convection patterns for different IMF BZ and Bᵧ can be studied in isolation in a model. In this paper we use a first-principles model to determine the effect of the IMF Bᵧ component on the compositional response of the high-latitude thermosphere.