Statistical Characteristics of Stormtime Bursty Bulk Flows

Abstract Bursty bulk flows (BBFs) play a significant role in transporting plasma earthward in the magnetotail. While their properties have been extensively studied, their behavior during geomagnetic storms needs further understanding. In this study, we investigate the stormtime characteristics of BBFs, and compare them to non‐stormtime, by performing a superposed epoch analysis using data from ISAS/NASA's Geotail mission. Our results show that the properties of BBFs during stormtime and non‐stormtime remain largely consistent relative to the background plasma sheet conditions. The convection electric field is higher for stormtime BBFs which is primarily associated with an elevated magnetic field in the plasma sheet during storms. Moreover, stormtime plasma sheet conditions, such as an enhanced magnetic field and an elevated ion temperature, are reflected in the properties of BBFs indicating the strong influence of the background plasma environment on BBF dynamics.