Validation of simulated statistical characteristics of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling in global geospace simulations over an entire Carrington rotation

The M-I coupling characteristics, such as field-aligned current, polar cap potential, ionospheric Joule heating, and downward Alfv eacute;nic Poynting flux, are binned according to the interplanetary magnetic field clock angles over an entire Carrington Rotation event between 20 March and 16 April 2008.

The MAGE model simulates similar distributions of field-aligned currents compared to empirical Weimer/AMPS models and Iridium observations and reproduces the Region 0 current system. The simulated convection potential agrees well with the Weimer empirical model and displays consistent two-cell patterns with SuperDARN observations, which benefit from more extensive data sets. The Joule heating structure in MAGE is generally consistent with both empirical Cosgrove and Weimer models.