Abstract
Measurements of ion velocities by the Svalbard EISCAT Radar (ESR) has been used to calculate Birkeland current densities. Birkeland currents are field-aligned currents flowing along Earth’s magnetic field lines at high latitudes. These calcu- lated densities has been analyzed together with data from the Advanced Compo- sition Explorer satellite (ACE) containing values of parameters in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). A connection between larger Birkeland current densities and changes in the IMF parameters By or Bz is revealed.