RadCube MAGIC observations of complex field aligned currents associated with a supersubstorm during the May 2024 geomagnetic storm
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Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Geomagnetic storms are a key driver of space weather impacts. The enhancement of ionospheric currents during these events can produce geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) that may interfere with the operation of ground infrastructure such as power grids, pipelines, and railway networks. It is therefore critical to understand how, why, and when very intense GICs may occur during an extended geomagnetic storm interval. Supersubstorms are extremely intense substorms which may occur during the main or recovery phases of geomagnetic storms. These rare events bear special investigation because they may have a significant impact on GIC formation during extreme geomagnetic storms. Multiple supersubstorms were observed during the May 2024 geomagnetic storm, and here we report new observations of supersubstorm field aligned currents (FACs), observed in situ by the MAGnetometer from Imperial College (MAGIC) instrument on the RadCube technology demonstration CubeSat. These measurements provide new insight into the detailed structure of supersubstorm FACs, complementing global FAC maps, and reveal an extended spatial region containing magnetic fluctuations across a broad range of spatial/temporal scales, including intense localised
current spikes. As well as revealing new details about supersubstorm-related FACs, these observations illustrate the need for dense constellations of low-Earth-orbit satellite-based magnetometers for space weather monitoring.
current spikes. As well as revealing new details about supersubstorm-related FACs, these observations illustrate the need for dense constellations of low-Earth-orbit satellite-based magnetometers for space weather monitoring.
Date Issued
2026-07-28
Date Acceptance
2026-07-16
Citation
Scientific Reports, 2026
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Journal / Book Title
Scientific Reports
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2026-07-28