THE SUBSTORM EVENT OF 28 JANUARY 1983 - A DETAILED GLOBAL STUDY

A small, isolated substorm with an expansion phase onset at 07:39 U.T. (+/- 1 min) on 28 January 1983 was well observed by ground-based instrumentation as well as by low- and high-altitude spacecraft. This event period was chosen as a detailed analysis interval because of the comprehensive nature of the data coverage, and because ISEE-3 identified signatures within the distant tail (approximately 220 R(E)) following the substorm onset which had been interpreted as those of a plasmoid passage. In this paper we provide a comprehensive timeline of the growth, expansion, and recovery phases of the substorm. The magnetospheric energy input rates are evaluated using IMP-8 in the upstream solar wind. For the first time, DE-1 imaging sequences are used to examine auroral features during the growth and expansion phases while ISEE-3 was in the deep tail. Substorm current wedge location and expansion onset information was provided by ground-based magnetometer and geostationary orbit (particle and magnetic field) data. The plasma, energetic particle, and field signatures at ISEE-3 are considered within the framework of the near-Earth data sets. We quantitatively estimate substorm energy input and output relationships for this case and we evaluate the timing and physical dimensions of the distant tail disturbance implied by the global observations available. Overall, the present analysis provides a thorough documentation of a substorm to an unprecedented degree; most of the data support the developing paradigm of the near-Earth neutral line and plasmoid formation model. We also consider the boundary layer dynamics model of substorms as an alternative explanation of the global magnetospheric phenomena in this event, but as presented this model does not provide a superior organization of the available data sets.