This thesis discusses the reasons for space exploration and space science. Space plasma physics is identified as an essential building block to understand the space environment and it is argued that observation and analysis of space plasma waves is an important approach. Space plasma waves are the main actors in many important processes. So-called broadband waves are found responsible for much of the ion heating in the auroral region. We investigate the wave properties of broadband waves and show that they can be described as a mixture of electrostatic wave modes. In small regions void of cold electrons the broadband activity is found to be ion acoustic waves and these regions are also identified as acceleration regions. The identification of the wave modes includes reconstructions of the wave distribution function. The reconstruction technique allow us to determine the wave vector spectrum, which cannot be measured directly. The method is applied to other wave events and it is compared in some detail with a similar method. Space plasma wave are also sensitive tools for investigations of both the fine-structure and the dynamics of space plasmas. Studies of whistler mode waves observed in the boundary layer on the magnetospheric side of the magnetopause reveal that the plasma is organized in tube-like structures moving with the plasma drift velocity. The perpendicular dimension of these tubes is of the order of the electron inertial length. We present evidence that each tube is linked to a reconnection site and argue that the high density of tube-like structures indicates patchy reconnection.

Magnetized planets, such as Earth, are strongly influenced by the solar wind. The Sun is very dynamic, releasing varying amounts of energy, resulting in a fluctuating energy and momentum exchange between the solar wind and planetary magnetospheres. The efficiency of this coupling is thought to be controlled by magnetic reconnection occurring at the boundary between solar wind and planetary magnetic fields. One of the main tasks in space physics research is to increase the understanding of this coupling between the Sun and other solar system bodies. Perhaps the most important aspect regards the transfer of energy from the solar wind to the terrestrial magnetosphere as this is the main source for driving plasma processes in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system. This may also have a direct practical influence on our life here on Earth as it is responsible for Space Weather effects. In this thesis I investigate both the global scale of the varying solar-terrestrial coupling and local phenomena in more detail. I use mainly the European Space Agency Cluster mission which provide unprecedented three-dimensional observations via its formation of four identical spacecraft. The Cluster data are complimented with observations from a broad range of instruments both onboard spacecraft and from groundbased magnetometers and radars. A period of very strong solar driving in late October 2003 is investigated. We show that some of the strongest substorms in the history of magnetic recordings were triggered by pressure pulses impacting a quasi-stable magnetosphere. We make for the first time direct estimates of the local energy flow into the magnetotail using Cluster measurements. Observational estimates suggest a good energy balance between the magnetosphere-ionosphere system while empirical proxies seem to suffer from over/under estimations during such extreme conditions. Another period of extreme interplanetary conditions give rise to accelerated flows along the magnetopause which could account for an enhanced energy coupling between the solar wind and the magnetosphere. We discuss whether such conditions could explain the simultaneous observation of a large auroral spiral across the polar cap. Contrary to extreme conditions the energy conversion across the dayside magnetopause has been estimated during an extended period of steady interplanetary conditions. A new method to determine the rate at which reconnection occurs is described that utilizes the magnitude of the local energy conversion from Cluster. The observations show a varying reconnection rate which support the previous interpretation that reconnection is continuous but its rate is modulated. Finally, we compare local energy estimates from Cluster with a global magnetohydrodynamic simulation. The results show that the observations are reliably reproduced by the model and may be used to validate and scale global magnetohydrodynamic models.