Abstract

Many magnetospheric structures, such as the bow shock, magnetopause, and magnetotail, have been well-studied with data-model comparisons, but visualization of these structures for education and model validation has largely been the domain of artists' renditions. We present a set of relatively sim... Show moreMany magnetospheric structures, such as the bow shock, magnetopause, and magnetotail, have been well-studied with data-model comparisons, but visualization of these structures for education and model validation has largely been the domain of artists' renditions. We present a set of relatively simple algorithms for the visualization of global magnetospheric structures, including current systems, tail lobes, flow sheets, and separatrices. In particular, our global open/closed separatrix search combines the high detail of field line traces with a fast multi-resolution 2D search to avoid the high cost of the traditional volume traces and their resultant "spaghetti diagrams". We demonstrate the effectiveness of these tools by analyzing results of the Lyon Fedder Mobarry (LFM) global MHD model coupled with the Rice Convection Model (RCM). While all our techniques were built with rapid prototyping in CISM-DX, the methods presented are simple enough to be implemented in visualization packages other than CISM-DX. Show less