数值模拟日侧磁场重联对极盖等离子体云块形成的影响

极盖等离子体云块是极区空间天气重要现象之一,其形成过程是当前重要研究课题.观测表明,日侧磁场重联对应的极区电离层高速流可能对舌状等离子体(TOI)形成"切割"作用,最终形成极盖等离子体云块.伴随磁场重联,同时存在极光粒子沉降,会引起F层等离子体密度的增大,阻碍"切割"效应.本文利用耦合极区电离层模型,模拟研究电场和软电子沉降共同作用下F层等离子体密度的演化.结果表明,在局部电离层电场大于一定数值(80 mV)的情况下,"切割"效应能有效发生.并详细分析了"切割"效应发生时等离子体各参量的演化过程,对"切割"效应的内在物理过程进行了探讨.     

极区电离层对IMF Bz 4次快速转向的响应——EISCAT/ESR雷达观测

利用EISCAT VHF和EISCAT Svalbard(ESR)雷达观测数据,对2003年2月12日IMF Bz分量4次快速方向转换期间,极区电离层,尤其是极尖/极隙区的响应特征进行了分析研究.随着IMF Bz方向的多次快速变化,地面雷达观测到极尖/极隙区所在位置随着开放-闭合磁力线边界在纬度方向上来回移动.在此期间,极区电离层等离子体水平对流多次反向,表现出与IMF Bz分量强的负相关性.进一步分析表明:极区磁层-电离层系统在日侧对IMF极性变化的平均响应时间约为3 min.     

极区电离层对IMF Bz 4次快速转向的响应——EISCAT/ESR雷达观测

利用EISCAT VHF和EISCAT Svalbard（ESR）雷达观测数据,对2003年2月12日IMF B_z分量4次快速方向转换期间,极区电离层,尤其是极尖/极隙区的响应特征进行了分析研究.随着IMF B_z方向的多次快速变化,地面雷达观测到极尖/极隙区所在位置随着开放-闭合磁力线边界在纬度方向上来回移动.在此期间,极区电离层等离子体水平对流多次反向,表现出与IMF B_z分量强的负相关性.进一步分析表明：极区磁层-电离层系统在日侧对IMF极性变化的平均响应时间约为3 min.     

EISCAT雷达观测到的极区电离层等离子体反常对流

综合分析EISCAT雷达与卫星当地测量数据,并利用磁层磁场模式对磁力线进行追踪,研究了发生在极光椭圆朝极盖边界附近电离层中,一例反常的背离太阳流动的强等离子体对流事件,及相关的太阳风-磁层-电离层耦合过程.结果表明,磁暴期间IMFBz指向南时观测到这一反常高速对流,及其相应的等离子体性态特征,很可能是向阳侧磁层顶磁重联过程在电离层中的印记.     

磁暴期间极光椭圆与极盖区电离层效应比较研究——F区负暴

联合利用EISCAT和E-Svalbard非相干散射雷达数据,研究l997年5月强磁暴期间向阳侧极盖与极光椭圆区电离层F区负暴.发现在磁暴主相和恢复相初期,极光椭圆和极盖区电离层都在大约l90km高度出现类似F1的峰,F2主峰完全消失,F区电子密度大幅度下降.但离子温度的变化在两个区域很不相同,在极光椭圆区大幅度升高,而在极盖区没有显著变化,反映出引起F区负暴的主要机制在两个区域不尽相同.强对流电场引起大气焦耳加热与离子增温而使O+离子消失的化学反应速率增大所导致的电离损失,对极光椭圆区负暴起主要作用;而输运过程,特别是持续长达数小时的沿场上行离子流,对极盖区负暴起重要作用.磁暴主相期间,当EISCAT雷达位于等离子体对流涡旋转换区下方时,在无焦耳加热与离子摩擦增温的情况下,观测到由顶部电离层O+离子沿场高速外流引起的F区电子密度耗空.     

极区中层尘埃等离子体中的尘埃声波研究

基于统计方法的自洽场理论,考虑了带电粒子与中性分子的碰撞以及对尘埃粒子的充电过程,建立了弱电离尘埃等离子体的纵波色散关系.分析了极区中层大气80~90 km高度范围内的尘埃声波的不稳定性.研究表明,极区中层大气中的尘埃声波有不稳定的模式,不稳定的波模对进一步解释极区中层尘埃等离子体的分层结构可能有重要意义.     

三维电离层等离子体环流

对DE2航天器测量的离子漂移速度矢量的检验揭示了高纬度区垂直和平行于磁场的电离层流动的意义.在行星际磁场南向期间,垂直于磁场的两涡对流图案伴随着电离层等离子体的场向运动,这种运动在昼侧极光带和极隙区的主要是向上的,在极盖区主要是向下的.对流通过中性大气产生的摩擦加热和能粒子沉降产生的加热确信是导致等离子体总体向上流动和随后等离子的冷却造成的向下流动的原因.一部分向上流动的等离子体看来是在约800km以上高度中获得逃逸能量的,在400km高度处通过整个高纬度区的平均离子流是向外的.它可与DEI在远高于400km的高度上观侧到的向外的能离子流相比拟。     

三维地震波速结构约束下的变黏度地幔对流及其动力学意义

建立了三维黏度扰动下的变黏度地幔对流模型,并提供了在引入地幔的三维地震波速度结构下相应的求解方法. 依此反演了瑞利数Ra = 106时,两种不同边界条件下的极、环型场对流图像,这有助于深化对地幔物质流动和大地构造运动的深部动力学过程的认识和理解. 研究结果表明,不但地幔浅部的极型场对流图像显示出了与大地构造运动的相关性并揭示了其深部动力学过程,更重要的是,地幔浅部的环型场对流图像首次为我们认识和理解板块构造的水平与旋转运动提供了重要的信息：环型场速度剖面中在赤道附近存在一条大致南东东—北西西向的强对流条带,可能与环赤道附近大型剪切带的形成相关,进而表明可能是该带强震发生的深部动力学背景;在南北半球存在的旋转方向相反的对流环表明它们整体上可能存在差异旋转.     

地球极区电离层对行星际激波的响应

本文就地球电离层对行星际激波的动力学响应进行三维全球数值模拟研究．背景行星际磁场为螺旋场，南北分量为零；初始电离层由Ⅰ区场向电流和相应的晨昏电场所主导；行星际激波沿日地连线方向撞击地球．模拟结果表明，在激波的作用下，电离层Ⅰ区电流系统向子夜方向运动，在向阳侧相继出现与原Ⅰ区电流反向的异常场向电流对和同向的新生Ⅰ区电流对．该异常场向电流对在极盖区形成瞬间昏晨电场，尾随原Ⅰ区电流向夜侧方向漂移直至湮没．与此同时，新生的Ⅰ区电流不断增强并向夜侧和赤道方向延伸，最终取代原Ⅰ区电流，相应极盖区又恢复到原来的晨昏电场状态．这一响应过程和行星际激波强度有关：激波强度越强，新生的Ⅰ区场向电流也越强，它向赤道方向延伸的距离也越大，能到达的纬度也越低．上述结果在趋势上与观测到的输运对流涡旋和亚极光块的运动特征一致．     

极区电离层对流速度的浅层神经网络建模与分析

电离层对流是太阳风与地球磁场相互作用下驱动的磁层大尺度对流循环与对流电场在极区电离层的映射,与行星际磁场-地球磁场耦合系统息息相关.本文基于SuperDARN(Super Dual Aurora Radar Network)分布在北半球的23部高频相干散射雷达获取到的二维电离层对流速度对其进行建模研究.模型输入为行星际...     

Diurnal and seasonal occurrence of polar patches

Analysis of the diurnal and seasonal variation of polar patches, as identified in two years of HF-radar data from Halley, Antarctica during a period near sunspot maximum, shows that there is a broad maximum in occurrence centred about magnetic noon, not local noon. There are minima in occurrence near midsummer and midwinter, with maxima in occurrence between equinox and winter. There are no significant correlations between the occurrence of polar patches and the corresponding hourly averages of the solar wind and IMF parameters, except that patches usually occur when the interplanetary magnetic field has a southward component. The results can be understood in terms of UT and seasonal differences in the plasma concentration being convected from the dayside ionosphere into the polar cap. In summer and winter the electron concentrations in the polar cap are high and low, respectively, but relatively unstructured. About equinox, a tongue of enhanced ionisation is convected into the polar cap; this tongue is then structured by the effects of the interplanetary magnetic field, but these Halley data cannot be used to separate the various competing mechanisms for patch formation. The observed diurnal and seasonal variation in the occurrence of polar patches are largely consistent with predictions of Sojka et al. (1994) when their results are translated into the southern hemisphere. However, the ionospheric effects of flux transfer events are still considered essential in their formation, a feature not yet included in the Sojka et al. model.     

Simultaneous two hemisphere observations of the presence of polar patches in the nightside ionosphere

The presence of polar patches as observed simultaneously in the same magnetic meridian of opposite nightside ionospheres by coherent and incoherent scatter radars are described. The patches appear to be related to variations either in the B_z or B_y component of the interplanetary magnetic field which cause transient merging on the dayside magnetopause. The passage and characteristics of polar patches as they traverse the polar cap into the nightside auroral oval are not significantly affected by the occurrence of small substroms. This study illustrates how the observations of polar patches in the nightside high-latitude ionosphere could be of great value in determining their formation process.     

Imaging of the Antarctic ionosphere: Experimental results

Ground-based dual-frequency GPS observations can be used to create images of electron density. This is well established for the Arctic ionosphere; here one of the first results is presented for the Antarctic. In this study, the GPS receivers in the Antarctic are supplemented with another GPS receiver onboard CHAMP. The aim of the study is to demonstrate the technique for investigating geophysical events, for example, an ionospheric disturbance period on 11 February 2004. The images have been validated by in-situ measurements from DMSP and CHAMP satellites, as well as Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) convection patterns, which are able to confirm the location, presence, and transportation of large-scale plasma patches. This study indicates that although the convection still dominates in the high-latitude ionosphere, soft precipitation within the polar cap may play a role in the evolution of the polar patches. It also illustrates the potential for future multi-instrument studies of the Antarctic.     

Propagating plasma patch and associated neutral stream flows

Plasma patches are regions of enhanced ionization that are created in the dayside cusp or equatorward of the cusp in the sunlit hemisphere during northward interplanetary magnetic field. After formation, and a change to a southward interplanetary magnetic field, they drift across the polar cap with the prevailing convection speed. As a plasma patch propagates, charge exchange reactions occur, which lead to the production of both ion and neutral particles throughout the patch. In the region directly above the patch, an upward jet of H⁺ and O⁺ forms. This ion jet, in turn, acts to produce an upward flux of neutral H and O stream particles because of charge exchange reactions between the ion jet and the background neutral atmosphere. A three-dimensional, time-dependent model of the ion and neutral polar winds was used in order to study the evolution of the neutral stream particles that are produced in a ‘representative’ propagating plasma patch, with the anticipation that the neutral stream particles produced by the ion jet would display a distinct signature. However, the outflow of neutral H atoms above a patch is only slightly visible in the simulation due to a continuous outflow flux of H (∼10⁹ cm⁻² s⁻¹) across the entire polar cap. On the other hand, the upward flux of neutral O from the patch is more dependent on both the state of the ionosphere and the amount of heating, with increased upward fluxes over areas where the heating is high. Typically, the upward neutral O streams are predominantly located in the pre-midnight auroral oval.     

Dynamics of high-latitude patches and associated small-scale irregularities during the October and November 2003 storms

Observations from a network of specially equipped GPS scintillation receivers in Northern Europe are used to investigate the dynamics of ionospheric plasma during the storm events of 30 October and 20 November 2003. The total electron content (TEC) and scintillation data, combined with ionospheric tomography produced by the multi-instrument data analysis system (MIDAS), reveal strong enhancements and steep gradients in TEC during nighttime under a prevailing negative B_z component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Amplitude and phase scintillation maxima are often co-located with the TEC gradients at the edge of plasma patches, revealing the presence of small-scale irregularities and suggesting association with a tongue of ionization (TOI) convecting in an anti-sunward direction from the American sector across the polar cap. Similarities and differences between the ionospheric response to the two storms are investigated. The 30 October event reveals a quite complex scenario showing two phases of plasma dynamics: the former reflects the expected convection pattern for IMF B_z southward and the latter possibly indicates a sort of TEC plasma stagnation signature of the more complex convection patterns during several positive/negative excursions of IMF B_z.     

Ionospheric convection during the magnetic storm of 20–21 March 1990

We report on the response of high-latitude ionospheric convection during the magnetic storm of March 20–21 1990. IMP-8 measurements of solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), ionospheric convection flow measurements from the Wick and Goose Bay coherent radars, EISCAT, Millstone Hill and Sondrestrom incoherent radars and three digisondes at Millstone Hill, Goose Bay and Qaanaaq are presented. Two intervals of particular interest have been identified. The first starts with a storm sudden commencement at 2243 UT on March 20 and includes the ionospheric activity in the following 7 h. The response time of the ionospheric convection to the southward turning of the IMF in the dusk to midnight local times is found to be approximately half that measured in a similar study at comparable local times during more normal solar wind conditions. Furthermore, this response time is the same as those previously measured on the dayside. An investigation of the expansion of the polar cap during a substorm growth phase based on Faraday’s law suggests that the expansion of the polar cap was nonuniform. A subsequent reconfiguration of the nightside convection pattern was also observed, although it was not possible to distinguish between effects due to possible changes in B_y and effects due to substorm activity. The second interval, 1200–2100 UT 21 March 1990, included a southward turning of the IMF which resulted in the B_z component becoming -10 nT. The response time on the dayside to this change in the IMF at the magnetopause was approximately 15 min to 30 min which is a factor of \sim2 greater than those previously measured at higher latitudes. A movement of the nightside flow reversal, possibly driven by current systems associated with the substorm expansion phases, was observed, implying that the nightside convection pattern can be dominated by substorm activity.     

Localized structure in the cusp and high-latitude ionosphere: a modelling study

The ionospheric signature of a flux transfer event (FTE) seen in EISCAT radar data has been used as the basis for a modelling study using a new numerical model of the high-latitude ionosphere developed at the University of Sheffield, UK. The evolution of structure in the high-latitude ionosphere is investigated and examined with respect to the current views of polar patch formation and development. A localized velocity enhancement, of the type associated with FTEs, is added to the plasma as it passes through the cusp. This is found to produce a region of greatly enhanced ion temperature. The new model can provide greater detail during this event as it includes anisotropic temperature calculations for the O⁺ ions. This illustrates the uneven partitioning of the energy during an event of this type. O⁺ ion temperatures are found to become increasingly anisotropic, with the perpendicular temperature being substantially larger than the parallel component during the velocity enhancement. The enhanced temperatures lead to an increase in the recombination rate, which results in an alteration of the ion concentrations. A region of decreased O⁺ and increased molecular ion concentration develops in the cusp. The electron temperature is less enhanced than the ions. As the new model has an upper boundary of 10 000 km the topside can also be studied in great detail. Large upward fluxes are seen to transport plasma to higher altitudes, contributing to the alteration of the ion densities. Plasma is stored in the topside ionosphere and released several hours after the FTE has finished as the flux tube convects across the polar cap. This mechanism illustrates how concentration patches can be created on the dayside and be maintained into the nightside polar cap.