MHD properties of magnetosheath flow

We discuss four aspects of magnetosheath flow that require MHD for their calculation and understanding. We illustrate these aspects with computations using a numerical MHD code that simulates the global magnetosphere and its magnetosheath. The four inherently MHD aspects of magnetosheath flow that we consider are the depletion layer, the magnetospheric sash, MHD flow deflections, and the magnetosheath's slow-mode expansion into the magnetotail. We introduce new details of these aspects or illustrate known details in anew way, including the dependence of the depletion layer on interplanetary magnetic filed clock angle; agreement between the locations of the antiparallel regions of Luhmann et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 89 (1984) 1739) and the magnetospheric sash, and deflections corresponding separately to a stagnation line and magnetic reconnection. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.