Magnetospheric conditions at the time of enhanced wave-particle interactions near the plasmapause

The morphology of geomagnetic and particle disturbances occurring in the American sector during the 0700--1000 UT time interval on January 2, 1971, is examined. This period includes the VLF/X ray burst correlation event that was detected near the plasmapause at Lapprox.4 in the vicinity of Siple Station, Antarctica (Rosenberg et al., 1971; Foster and Rosenberg, 1976a). It is found that a sequence of substorm intensifications occurred (0730, 0820, 0850, and 0925 UT), successive intensifications tending to occur more westwardly than the preceding ones. The last intensification in the sequence was confined principally to latitudes higher than the nominal auroral zone. Injections of energetic electrons into the night side magnetosphere were observed at Lapprox.6.6 during the intensifications at approx.0820 and approx.0850 UT. The onset and pronounced temporal and spectral features of the electron precipitation at Lapprox.4 near dawn can be related to these electron injections when cross-L inward convection and azimuthal drit are considered. It is suggested that injected electrons penetrated at least to the region just outside the plasmapause during the substorm and that simultaneous electron precipitation and VLF wave generation were associated with the onset of cyclotron resonance interactions following the arrival of the electrons on the field line over Siple Station