Short-circuit in the magnetosphere-ionosphere electric circuit

We describe, for the first time, the following peculiarities of a substorm in the polar ionosphere and magnetotail including its distant lobe: (1) coherent variations in mesoscale vortices and in field-aligned currents of the magnetospheric-ionospheric (M-I) system; (2) instability of short—circuiting of currents in ionospheric part of the M-I system; (3) coexistence of Y- and X-currents as necessary elements of the M-I system. These new elements for the substorm scenario are principally relevant to understanding of basic processes in the mid-/near tail.