Geomagnetic responses in high latitudes during the storm of july 15—16, 2000

The ionospheric equivalent currents in the high latitudes and the auroral electrojet system during the geomagnetic storm on July 15–16, 2000 are analyzed by using geomagnetic data from IMAGE chain. The large-scale vortices of equivalent currents are observed in the storm. The vortices on the dusk side of ionosphere correspond to four-celled pattern of plasma convection associated with NBZ, region I and region II field-aligned currents. Only one vortex can be found on the dawn side of ionosphere after interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turns southward. In the initial phase of the storm, the center of eastward electrojets tends to shift equatorward. It arrives at 58.62° latitude of corrected geomagnetic coordinates (CGM). The westward electrojets are strong in the main phase. The center of westward electrojets in this period moves equatorward and may be beyond the southernmost station (56.45°) of the chain.