----------------------------------------------------------
Reports of the 6 December GEM WG Meetings in San Francisco
----------------------------------------------------------

	           WG3: CURRENT SYSTEMS AND MAPPINGS
                 Co-chairs: Bob Lysak and Chris Russell

   The objective of the workshop was to provide an open forum for the 
discussion of problems associated with magnetospheric current systems
and with the mapping of ionospheric and magnetospheric phenomena. Of 
particular concern are the currents responsible for the coupling of 
the two regions. The conveners had hoped to hold a discussion of 
traveling convection vortices led by K-H Glassmeier but Glassmeier 
was unable to be present. However, there were many other topics to be
discussed. George Siscoe presented his recent work on polar cusp currents.
Bob Lysak discussed recent improvements to his dynamic magnetosphere model.
Joel Fedder discussed the results of global MHD simulations using actual 
solar wind data.  Joel emphasized the long time required for the 
magnetosphere to reach an equilibrium state. He also showed that many 
observed features of magnetospheric dynamics were reproduced by the model. 
C. T. Russell presented results of a study of sudden impulses. The 
response of low latitude stations to sudden impulses is a rapid increase 
to a new steady state level. Often there is an overshoot in magnitude 
before this new level is reached. This overshoot occurs principally at 
dawn and dusk. Surprisingly, it seems to disappear when the ring current
builds up. This implies that the ring current may not play simply a 
passive role in magnetospheric processes but affect the dynamics of the
magnetosphere.
   It is now time to start planning for the Snowmass meeting. Suggestions
for topics to be discussed are solicited by the conveners.