Turbulent impact of interplanetary CMEs on planetary plasma environments

2023-2024
Venus Express and Cluster spacecraft probe in-situ the Venus and Earth plasma environment; the data analysis reveals how a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), erupted on the Sun on 14/01/2009, induced:

(1) increased magnetic fluctuations in the Venusian outer plasma layers and
(2) strong electromagnetic waves in the Earth’s magnetosheath.

In another study, the Maven spacecraft orbiting Mars revealed that a CME which erupted on 5th of March 2018 induces a turbulent magnetic noise in the electromagnetic environment at Mars. Such turbulent effects may pose threats for technologies embarked on-board planetary orbiting spacecraft

The PLATINUM project

The project BRAIN-BE2 PLATINUM (2022-2025) funded by BELSPO is the framework for a fruitful scientific collaboration between BIRA-IASB, the Royal Observatory of Belgium and the Catholic University of Leuven. 

In this project we survey the interplanetary propagation of Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) and focus particularly on their turbulent impact on the plasma environment at Venus, Earth, and Mars. We use data collected by ESA's Venus Express and Cluster satellites (at Venus and Earth, respectively) and NASA’s spacecraft Maven (at Mars) to extract key descriptors of the solar wind and planetary magnetic turbulence.

The three targeted planets are prototypical for different types of planetary interaction with the solar wind:

  • Venus has a dense atmosphere but no internal magnetic field,
  • Earth has a dense atmosphere and a strong internal magnetic field leading to a well-developed magnetosphere,
  • Mars has a rarefied atmosphere and some remnant pockets of internal magnetic field.

Therefore, a comparison of the response of the three planets exposed to CMEs allows advancing the understanding on solar system plasma interactions.

From a survey of data collected between 2007 and 2022 we identified a series of candidate case studies and focused on

  1. a CME erupted on 14 January 2009 which impacted Venus and Earth, and
  2. two CMEs erupted on the same day, the 5th of March 2018, impacting rather simultaneously the Earth and Mars.

A same ICME driving turbulent effects at two planets, first at Venus, later at Earth

Venus Express and Cluster surveyed in-situ the magnetosheath of Venus and Earth, respectively, and observed turbulent effects linked to the impact of the CME erupted from the Sun on 14 January 2009. 

One parameter we particularly surveyed is the scale/frequency distribution of the turbulent magnetic energy and we noticed that certain features observed in the ICME itself (e.g., a peculiar power-law scaling in the Fourier spectrum of magnetic fluctuations) are partially transmitted and replicated by the magnetosheath of the two planets. 

spectral structure of magnetic turbulence in the ICME
Power Spectrum Density (PSD) of solar wind magnetic field at Venus inside ICME flux rope.
Spectral structure of magnetic turbulence in the ICME itself
PSD of solar wind magnetic field at Earth inside ICME flux rope.

Also, a peculiar morphological feature of the CME, the flux rope (or magnetic cloud), which is the core region of the ICME with stronger magnetic field, seem to act more efficiently on the two planetary plasma systems. While irregularity and non-developed turbulence seem to be the norm in Venus magnetosheath, prior and after CME impact, we also find that the CME arrival induces an increase of electromagnetic wave activity (in the ion cyclotron range) in the Earth’s magnetosheath.

Two CMEs erupted in the same day and impact almost simultaneously Earth and Mars to drive turbulent effects

Cluster and MAVEN in-situ observations helped us to further investigate the structure of the CME induced turbulence at the Earth and Mars. 

PSD of Venus magnetosheath magnetic field
PSD of Venus magnetosheath magnetic field during the interaction with ICME flux rope structure.
PSD of Earth magnetosheath magnetic field
PSD of Earth magnetosheath magnetic field during the interaction with ICME flux rope structure

We focused on the statistical properties of magnetic fluctuations and found out that the ICME itself is characterized by intermittency, i.e. time intervals of magnetic quietness are followed by bursts of activity and high levels of fluctuations. The same behaviour is retrieved in the magnetosheath of the Earth and Mars, with increased levels of magnetic burstiness at the Earth compared to Mars.

References

  • Echim, M.; Munteanu, C.; Voitcu, G.; Teodorescu, E. Solar Wind Turbulence and Complexity Probed with Rank-Ordered Multifractal Analysis (ROMA). Entropy, 26, 929, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/e26110929
     
  • Munteanu, C., Kovacs, P., Echim, M,  “An Integrated Nonlinear Analysis (INA) Software for Space Plasma Turbulence”, Earth and Space Science, 10, e2022EA002692, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EA002692

 

Magnetometer Cluster spacecraft
Artist impression of the magnetometer on board the Cluster spacecraft which collects in-situ data on the magnetic turbulence induced at Earth by the CME observed by STEREO-A. Credit: ESA
Coronal Mass Ejection 14th of January 2009
STEREO-A Extreme Ultra Violet data showed the eruption of the Coronal Mass Ejection on 14th of January 2009 – credit STEREO SECCHI EUVI 171 data, by Royal Observatory of Belgium and JHelioviewer.
Comparison spectral structure magnetic turbulence
See images in the text for the comparison between the spectral structure of magnetic turbulence in the ICME itself and the two planetary magnetosheaths (Venus – Earth)