Evolution of earth´s plasmasphere in response to the solar wind variations and magnetic storms

Earth´s plasmasphere originates from the ionosphere, which is controlled by the magnetic and electric fields in the inner magnetosphere. The dense low energy plasmas in the plasmasphere have critical influences on both the ionosphere and magnetosphere, thus play important roles on the magnetospheric space weather. The multiple spacecraft missions, i.e., Cluster, THEMIS, Swarm, etc, and the imaging missions, such as IMAGE and Changer 3, have provided precious opportunities for investigating the dynamics of plasmasphere. In this research, with the 4-point magnetic observations by Cluster, we have analyzed the distortion of the configuration of the geomagnetic field during the strong magnetic storms and the corresponding effects on the structure of the plasmasphere. With IMAGE and Changer 3 EUV measurements, the comparative study is made on this effect. With the 4-point measurements of WHISPER on Cluster, we have explored the spatial distribution of the electrons of the plasmasphere in variations with the magnetic shell L, magnetic local time and field lines, which is very valuable for the improvement of the empirical plasmasphere model. Furthermore, the joint investigations with Swarm ionosphere observations and Changer 3 EUV measurements are made to obtain the relationship between the ionospheric origin and distributions of plasmasphere as well as the influences of solar wind conditions.