We estimate the global impact of storms on the global structure and dynamics of the nightside plasma sheet (PS) from observations by the NASA mission THEMIS. We focus on an intense storm occurring in December 2015 triggered by interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs). It starts with a storm sudden commencement (SSC) phase (SYM-H~+50nT) followed by a growth phase (SYM-H~-188nT at the minimum) and then a long recovery phase. We investigate THEMIS observations when the spacecraft were located in the midnight sector of the PS at distances typically between 8 and 13RE. It is found that the PS has been globally compressed up to a value of about~>4nPa during the SSC and main phases, i.e. 8 times larger than its value during the quiet phase before the event. This compression occurs during periods of high dynamic pressure in the ICME (20nPa) about one order of magnitude larger than its value in the pristine solar wind. We infer a global increase of the lobe magnetic field from 30nT to 100nT, confirmed by THEMIS data just outside the PS. During the SSC and main phases, the PS is found thinner by a factor of 2 relative to its thickness at quiet times, while the Tsyganenko T96 magnetic field model shows very stretched magnetic field lines from inner magnetospheric regions toward the nightside. During the recovery phase, whereas the interplanetary pressure has dropped off, the PS tends to gradually recover its quiet phase characteristics (pressure, thickness, magnetic configuration, etc) during a long recovery phase.

We carried out a statistical study of equatorial dipolarization fronts (DFs) detected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS) during the full 2017 Earth’s magnetotail season. We found that two DF classes are distinguished: class I (74.4%) corresponds to the standard DF properties and energy dissipation and a new class II (25.6%). This new class includes the six DF discussed in Alqeeq et al. (2022) and corresponds to a bump of the magnetic field associated with a minimum in the ion and electron pressures and a reversal of the energy conversion process. The possible origin of this second class is discussed. Both DF classes show that the energy conversion process in the spacecraft frame is driven by the diamagnetic current dominated by the ion pressure gradient. In the fluid frame, it is driven by the electron pressure gradient. In addition, we have shown that the energy conversion processes are not homogeneous at the electron scale mostly due to the variations of the electric fields for both DF classes.