Global Energy Circulation During a Solar Wind Density Pulse

We study the propagation and impacts of a strong density pulse through the magnetosphere during 11:40–12:00 UT near the peak of a geomagnetic storm on 3 February 2022. Using the Space Weather Modeling Framework Geospace global simulation, we show how the energy transport in the magnetosphere is enhanced promptly after the pulse arrival at the dayside magnetosphere, causing enhanced flows in the magnetotail prior to the compression reaching the tail region. The flows are shown to transport energy into the inner magnetosphere and couple to the dawn sector ionosphere, where the magnetic field variations caused large geomagnetically induced currents. We discuss the characteristics of pulse‐driven disturbances in the magnetosphere—ionosphere system, and argue that despite some similarities, the activity is distinct from substorms.