Magnetospheric plasma pressure and space weather Original Research Article

The atmospheric pressure is the main parameter measured for ordinary weather prediction. Plasma pressure is the main parameter determining the equilibrium of the magnetosphere, structure of the transverse and field- aligned currents. Transverse currents determine the value of Dst-variation. Field-aligned currents determine the large-scale ionospheric electric fields and plasma transport. So the obtaining of magnetospheric plasma pressure distribution can be one of the main step in the solution of space weather problem. INTERBALL/Tail observations are used for determination of plasma pressure distribution with rather high accuracy.