The generation of vertical thermospheric winds and gravity waves at auroral latitudes—I. Observations of vertical winds

Observations of vertical and horizontal thermospheric winds, using the OI (3P-1D) 630 nm emission line, by ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers in Northern Scandinavia and in Svalbard (Spitzbergen) have identified sources of strong vertical winds in the high latitude thermosphere. Observations from Svalbard (78.2N 15.6E) indicate a systematic diurnal pattern of strong downward winds in the period 06.00 U.T. to about 18.00 U.T., with strong upward winds between 20.00 U.T. and 05.00 U.T. Typical velocities of 30 m s^?1 downward and 50 m s^?1 upward occur, and there is day to day variability in the magnitude (30–80 m s^?1) and phase (+/- 3 h) in the basically diurnal variation. Strong and persistent downward winds may also occur for periods of several hours in the afternoon and evening parts of the auroral oval, associated with the eastward auroral electrojet (northward electric fields and westward ion drifts and winds), during periods of strong geomagnetic disturbances. Average downward values of 30–50 m s^?1 have been observed for periods of 4–6 h at times of large and long-lasting positive bay disturbances in this region. It would appear that the strong vertical winds of the polar cap and disturbed dusk auroral oval are not in the main associated with propagating wave-like features of the wind field. A further identified source is strongly time-dependent and generates very rapid upward vertical motions for periods of 15–30 min as a result of intense local heating in the magnetic midnight region of the auroral oval during the expansion phase of geomagnetic disturbances, and accompanying intense magnetic and auroral disturbances. In the last events, the height-integrated vertical wind (associated with a mean altitude of about 240 km) may exceed 100–150 m s^?1. These disturbances also invariably cause major time-dependent changes of the horizontal wind field with, for example, horizontal wind changes exceeding 500 m s^?1 within 30 min. The changes of vertical winds and the horizontal wind field are highly correlated, and respond directly to the local geomagnetic energy input. In contrast to the behaviour observed in the polar cap or in the disturbed afternoon auroral oval, the ‘expansion phase’ source, which corresponds to the classical ‘auroral substorm’, generates strong time-dependent wind features which may propagate globally. This source thus directly generates one class of thermospheric gravity waves. In this first paper we will consider the experimental evidence for vertical winds. In a second paper we will use a three-dimensional time-dependent model to identify the respective roles of geomagnetic energy and momentum in the creation of both classes of vertical wind sources, and consider their propagation and effects on global thermospheric dynamics.     

A global view at the polar region on 18 December 1971

The ISIS-2 scanning auroral photometer surveyed the polar region during three successive passes on 18 December 1971, at times when Kp values were still high due to an intense magnetic storm which began on 16 December. Two very bright (IBC III) auroral substorm patterns were seen to correspond to rather weak magnetic substorms (about 300 γ in magnitude). A large spiral auroral pattern, with intensity of the order of 100 kR and a size of about 1300 km, was present in the polar cap; it gradually decreased in size and intensity during the interval 0200–0600 UT. A region of enhanced 3914 emission was present in the noon sector of the auroral oval between 0200 and 0400. The presence of the diffuse auroral belt is also evident at all local times during this period, extending down to about 61° corrected geomagnetic latitude in the midnight sector.     

Measurements of thermospheric response to auroral activities

The Joule heating produced by auroral electrojets and its thermospheric response can be studied by monitoring the thermospheric temperatures by means of optical methods; simultaneously investigating the concurrent auroral electrojet activities using geomagnetic records obtained from stations along a meridian close to the observation site of optical measurements. We report, in this paper, the measurements of thermospheric response to auroral activities which were made at Albany (42.68°N, 73.82°W), New York on 2 September 1978 (U.T.) when an isolated substorm occurred. The thermospheric temperatures were measured by using a high-resolution Fabry-Perot interferometer that determines the line profiles of the [OI] 6300 Å line emission. The intensities and latitudinal positions of auroral electrojets were obtained by the analysis of magnetograms from the IMS Fort Churchill meridian chain stations.     

The Doppler Imaging System: Initial observations of the auroral thermosphere

During December 1982, a novel Fabry-Perot interferometer—a Doppler Imaging System (DIS)— was used at Kiruna Geophysical Institute (KGI), Sweden (67.8°N, 21.2°E) to complement a series of coordinated observations of global thermospheric dynamics utilizing a number of conventional ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers and the NASA Dynamics Explorer satellite. The DIS is an interferometer with two unique attributes : it has a luminosity or étendue more than one hundred times that of the conventional Fabry-Perot interferometer, and it is also capable of deducing a two-dimensional velocity field of a suitable line-emitting areal source by independently measuring the Doppler shift at a large number of points within the field of view. On 17 December 1982, a very large geomagnetic Storm Sudden Commencement (08.05 U.T.) preceded a major geomagnetic disturbance. During this disturbance, Northern Scandinavia was influenced by a strong eastward auroral electrojet for an extended period (10–19 U.T.). The DIS was able to observe the dynamical response of the upper thermosphere to this event in conjunction with a second Fabry-Perot interferometer (FPI) at KGI. Westward thermospheric winds of about 900 m s^?1 occurred during the disturbance and, at the peak of the disturbance, the combined DIS and FPI observations indicate that the thermospheric flow was quite chaotic. Fluctuations of the order of ± 150 ms^?1, associated with spatial scales of the order of 100 or 200 km occurred within the mean westward flow inside the 800 km diameter region observed from Kiruna.     

Electron precipitation equatorward of the auroral oval and the mantle aurora in the midday sector

In the midday sector, the hard electron precipitation and the associated patchy aurora at geomagnetic latitude ～65° are the only auroral features (? 20 keV) located equatorward of the dayside auroral oval during intense and moderately disturbed geomagnetic conditions. We identify the patchy luminosity in the midday and late morning sectors as the active mantle aurora. The mantle aurora was found by Sanford (1964) using the IGY-IGC auroral patrol spectrographs and which was thought to be non-visual. The precipitating electrons reside mostly at energies greater than several keV with an energy flux of ? 0.1 erg cm^?2 s^?1 sr^?1 during geomagnetic active periods. This hard precipitation occurs in a region which is asymmetric in L.T. with respect to the noon meridian. The region extends from the morning sector to only early afternoon (13–14 M.L.T.) along the geomagnetic latitude circle of about 65–70°. The model calculation indicates that the mantle aurora is produced by the precipitation of the energetic electrons which drift azimuthally from the plasma sheet at the midnight sector to the dayside magnetopause during magnetospheric substorms.     

Auroral precipitation and atmospheric vorticity at the 500 mb level

On the assumption that, in the long term, auroral and associated particle precipitation is uniform in magnetic time it can be shown that, due to the differing geometries in the northern and southern hemisphere, there exist two regions of maximum particle precipitation in different time zones in U.T. These are the midnight location of the auroral oval between about 1500–1800 h U.T. in the northern hemisphere and between 0000–0600 h U.T. in the southern hemisphere. These times correspond with the maxima of the indices am and am¹ for the respective winter periods.The northern hemisphere auroral zone precipitation maximum lies above the Siberian winter low pressure region at 500 mb heights which is displaced from the geographic pole. It is suggested that this relative location is basic to the Wilcox boundary crossing-absolute vorticity correlation.The southern hemisphere auroral zone precipitation maximum lies above the Antarctic low pressure region and is near the geographic pole. This results in the lack of a similar correlation as found by Burns.     

Sudden geomagnetic field variations in the night-side cusp-region during magnetospheric substorms accompanied by electron precipitation in the auroral zone

The relationship between sudden geomagnetic field changes in the nightside cusp region and impulsive electron precipitation events in the auroral zone is investigated. The investigations are based on magnetic field measurements from the spacecraft Explorer 35, Explorer 33 and OGO-5 and on X-ray measurements with balloon-borne instruments from Kiruna/Sweden. The sudden field changes are characterized by a decrease of the field strength and a rotation of the field direction. The precipitation events represent strong flux increases within a few minutes. The field changes were accompanied by impulsive precipitation not only in the midnight sector but also on the dayside. They can be regarded as a manifestation of the unsteady magnetospheric processes during the expansion phase. Whereas both phenomena occurred simultaneously on the nightside, the increase of precipitation was delayed by ca. 5 min on the dayside. It is assumed that the simultaneous occurrence on the nightside can be related to the formation of a neutral line with a considerable length in dawn-dusk-direction. Mechanisms are also discussed which could be responsible for the time delay on the dayside.     

Trans-auroral zone auroral infrasonic wave observations

The auroral infrasonic wave (AIW) substorm morphologies are compared for two trans-auroral zone stations, Inuvik, N.W.T. Canada (70°·4 dip lat) and College, Alaska (64°·6 dip lat), that lie along the same magnetic meridian with a north-south separation of 738 km. Statistical studies of the number of AIW received at College over a 5 yr period and at Inuvik over a 2 yr period as well as studies of individual auroral substorms observed at both stations have shown that in the morning sector many more AIW are observed at College than at Inuvik. This difference is related to the changing location of the westward auroral electroject with local time (Weins and Rostoker, 1973). The distribution of frequency of occurrence of AIW horizontal trace velocity V_η is presented for College data together with a discussion of the effects on the distribution of (1) source speed, (2) wind shear, (3) geometry of the AIW mach cone with respect to the observing station, (4) the filtering of AIW with high ray path apogees and (5) the decrease in AIW amplitude with increasing mach number.     

Joint two-dimensional observations of ground magnetic and ionospheric electric fields associated with auroral zone currents: Current systems associated with local auroral break-ups

On 15 February, 1977, ground magnetic, ionospheric electric and auroral signatures of a multiple onset substorm were observed simultaneously by the Scandinavian Magnetometer Array (SMA), the Scandinavian Twin Auroral Radar Experiment (STARE) and the Finnish all-sky camera chain. Between 21:00 and 21:30 U.T., i.e. around local magnetic midnight, three consecutive local auroral break-ups were observed over Scandinavia. Each of these break-ups was preceded by a clear fading of the aurora and magnetic fields (while the electric fields remained unaffected), and occurred slightly south of the Harang discontinuity in the region of north-westward-directed electric fields. They were associated with a sudden change in direction of the electric field from north-west to south-west and the appearance of a westward equivalent current in the localized active region (about 1200 × 300 km²). These observations matched the features to be expected during the generation of a Cowling channel by a strong increase of the ionospheric conductivities due to precipitating auroral electrons. Numerical model calculations, based on the observations during the initial brightening and peak development of the second, most conspicuous break-up, show that the field-aligned currents at the northern and southern border of the active region are indeed very weak. However, highly localized and intense upward field-aligned currents at the western edge of the active region and more widespread and less intense downward currents in the eastern half preserve current continuity of the westward Cowling current and complete the substorm current wedge.     

Effects of interplanetary magnetic field and magnetospheric substorm variations on the dayside aurora

Photometric observations of dayside auroras are compared with simultaneous measurements of geomagnetic disturbances from meridian chains of stations on the dayside and on the nightside to document the dynamics of dayside auroras in relation to local and global disturbances. These observations are related to measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) from the satellites ISEE-1 and 3. It is shown that the dayside auroral zone shifts equatorward and poleward with the growth and decay of the circum-oval/polar cap geomagnetic disturbance and with negative and positive changes in the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (B_z). The geomagnetic disturbance associated with the auroral shift is identified as the DP2 mode. In the post-noon sector the horizontal disturbance vector of the geomagnetic field changes from southward to northward with decreasing latitude, thereby changing sign near the center of the oval precipitation region. Discrete auroral forms are observed close to or equatorward of the ΔH = 0 line which separates positive and negative H-component deflections. This reversal moves in latitude with the aurora and it probably reflects a transition of the electric field direction at the polar cap boundary. Thus, the discrete auroral forms observed on the dayside are in the region of sunward-convecting field lines. A model is proposed to explain the equatorward and poleward movement of the dayside oval in terms of a dayside current system which is intensified by a southward movement of the IMF vector. According to this model, the Pedersen component of the ionospheric current is connected with the magnetopause boundary layer via field-aligned current (FAC) sheets. Enhanced current intensity, corresponding to southward auroral shift, is consistent with increased energy extraction from the solar wind. In this way the observed association of DP2 current system variations and auroral oval expansion/contraction is explained as an effect of a global, ‘direct’ response of the electromagnetic state of the magnetosphere due to the influence of the solar wind magnetic field. Estimates of electric field, current, and the rate of Joule heat dissipation in the polar cap ionosphere are obtained from the model.     

Did Open Solar Magnetic Field Increase During The Last 100 Years? A Reanalysis of Geomagnetic Activity

Long-term geomagnetic activity presented by the aa index has been used to show that the heliospheric magnetic field has more than doubled during the last 100 years. However, serious concern has been raised on the long-term consistency of the aa index and on the centennial rise of the solar magnetic field. Here we reanalyze geomagnetic activity during the last 100 years by calculating the recently suggested IHV (Inter-Hour Variability) index as a measure of local geomagnetic activity for seven stations. We find that local geomagnetic activity at all stations follows the same qualitative long-term pattern: an increase from early 1900 to 1960, a dramatic dropout in 1960s and a (mostly weaker) increase thereafter. Moreover, at all stations, the activity at the end of the 20th century has a higher average level than at the beginning of the century. This agrees with the result based on the aa index that global geomagnetic activity, and thereby, the open solar magnetic field has indeed increased during the last 100 years. However, quantitatively, the estimated centennial increase varies greatly from one station to another. We find that the relative increase is higher at the high-latitude stations and lower at the low- and mid-latitude stations. These differences may indicate that the fraction of solar wind disturbances leading to only moderate geomagnetic activity has increased during the studied time interval. We also show that the IHV index needs to be corrected for the long-term change of the daily curve, and calculate the corrected IHV values. Most dramatically, we find the centennial increase in global geomagnetic activity was considerably smaller, only about one half of that depicted by the aa index.     

VLF hiss,visual aurora and the geomagnetic activity

Observations and analyses of hiss events, recorded at College (dp. lat. 64.62°N) and Bar 1 (dp. lat. 70.20°N) during periods of varying auroral and geomagnetic activity, reveal three different types of events. These are (1) auroral substorm events with associated hiss bursts during disturbed period, (2) quiet-time hiss events accompanying stationary quiet auroral arcs and (3) hissless events at times of auroral and magnetic activity. Quiet-time observations seem to suggest that the substorm activity is not a necessary requirement for generating wideband hiss. On the other hand, examples of auroral and magnetic activity with complete absence of VLF hiss indicate that the ground reception of VLF/ELF natural emissions is largely controlled by propagation conditions in the ionosphere. There is either little or no correlation found between hiss observations at the two stations separated by about 600 km.     

Observational features of field line resonances excited by solar wind pressure variations on 4 September 1984

In the course of the magnetic storm of 4 September 1984, after an inverse sudden impulse (SI), geomagnetic pulsations in the Pc5-frequency range were observed at magnetometer stations in the local evening sector. They occurred at L-values of 6, and lasted for several hours, their period increasing from about 320 to 550 s. In this study, two events of enhanced activity are discussed in some detail. During the 16:00 U.T. event, a favourable position of the AMPTE/IRM spacecraft allows conjugate observations in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and in the magnetosphere. This constellation permits a precise determination of the wave mode. During a later intensification around 18:00 U.T., the AMPTE/CCE spacecraft near local noon monitored poloidal waves, obviously driving the pulsations on the ground. Generally, the observations are consistent with the theory of field line resonance. They are interpreted as being excited by pressure variations in the solar wind. The hydromagnetic cavity mode is assumed to link the magnetopause surface motions to the field line resonances.     

Electron counts in the neutral sheet and magnetic variations at a geomagnetic longitude associated ground station

A comparison of the variations in the count of electrons E > 36 keV on the satellite Vela 4A, and in the Macquarie Island magnetometer H trace, shows for a time lag of 22-8 min a correlation, r = 0.95, over a 90 min period of the recovery phase of a magnetospheric substorm on 17 August 1968. All-sky camera data suggest that during the correlation period the auroral electrojet showed very little latitudinal movement. Each peak in electron count relates to a current surge in the electrojet as shown by a deepening of the negative bay at Macquarie Island.Using the Fairfield (1968) model of the location of auroral shells in the solar magnetic equatorial plane, and the known location of the satellite, an estimate of the velocity of tail to Earth plasma convection in the plasma sheet of about 0·33 R_e/min is obtained for the recovery phase.The relationship is discussed between plasma sheet thinning and subsequent broadening, and the extension of the magnetic field lines into the tail region and their subsequent return. This discussion makes use of the estimated time lags between electron count at the satellite and the time of arrival of auroral particles at the antisolar meridian.From a somewhat speculative explanation, but one largely supported from the literature, of the magnetospheric processes involved in this auroral substorm, a plasma velocity estimate of 0·42 R_e/min for the initial phase of the substorm is obtained. These velocities are of the same order as the 0·5 R_e/min obtained by Lezniak and Winkler (1970) at 6·6 R_e.     

Precipitation of auroral particles in the central polar cap during a sudden commencement magnetic storm

All-sky camera observations from two stations in the inner (northern) polar cap and an auroral zone station are combined with photometer records from the polar cap station Nord in a study of the brilliant auroral display following the ssc of the storm of 7 November 1970. This display is the large, poleward expanding bulge of a substorm triggered by the ssc. It is composed of brilliant discrete forms embedded in low-intensity diffuse electron and proton aurora. The poleward edge of the diffuse electron aurora is 5° north of the discrete auroras and 3° north of the proton aurora. The intensity of the discrete aurora varies as the strength of the auroral electrojet as shown by magnetograms from auroral zone stations. Succeeding the retreating display a subvisible low-energy electron precipitation, which may be identified as the polar squall (Winningham and Heikkila, 1974) is observed over the polar cap during the main phase of the storm.In the early morning sector already existing diffuse auroras broaden towards the equator from the time of the ssc and at least during the following half hour.Ssc-triggered displays have been found (Feldstein, 1959) to withdraw from the inner polar cap as the initial (positive H) phase of the storm ends. A comparison of the records from seven low-latitude stations shows that during this particular storm the positive phase appears to be composed by two overlapping disturbances, i.e. the proper initial phase, which is generally thought to be due to compression of the inner magnetosphere and a series of positive bays accompanying the negative bays in auroral latitudes. These positive bays are observable over a great range of longitudes with a maximum of amplitude near midnight. As judged from the dayside magnetograms the initial (compression) phase ends at an early stage of the substorm. The observed coincidence between the withdrawal of the display and the cessation of the positive H phase of the storm is a consequence of the fact that the second component—the positive bays—and the auroral display over the polar cap are both signatures of the substorm activity.     

Pi 3 magnetic pulsations associated with substorms

Using magnetic data from the North American IMS network at high latitudes, Pi 3 pulsations are analysed for a period of $\text{4}\text{1}\text{2}$ continuously-disturbed days. The data were obtained from 13 stations in the Alaska and Fort Churchill meridional chains and in the east-west chain along the auroral zone. In the past, Pi 3 pulsations associated with substorms have been classified into two sub-categories, Pi p and Ps 6. However, we find that Pi 3's which have longer periods than Pi p and which are different from Ps 6 are more commonly observed than these two special types. Power spectra, coherence and phase differences are compared among the stations. Results show that noticeable differences for latitudinal dependence of period and amplitude exist among midnight, morning and late-evening Pi 3 pulsations. Results for Pi 3 occurring near midnight indicate that the periods at which the power spectral density is a maximum are longest, and the amplitude largest, near the center of the westward auroral electrojet. On the other hand, for Pi 3 pulsations occurring in the morning, the periods at which the power spectral density is a maximum are longest, and the amplitude largest, near the poleward edge of the westward electrojet. Furthermore, for Pi 3 pulsations occurring in the late evening, their periods are longer and their amplitudes larger near both the Harang discontinuity and the poleward edge of the westward electrojet than near its center. Correlations between pairs of adjoining stations are better in the polar cap than at auroral latitudes. It is also found from hodograms that the sense of polarization often varies from one station to another for the same event, and that the time duration in which the same rotational sense is maintained is shorter near midnight than in the morning and late evening. It is suggested that the source regions of the morning and late-evening Pi 3's lie on the electrojet boundaries; that is at the Harang discontinuity (in the evening) and at the poleward edge of the westward electrojet (in the morning and evening). The generation of midnight Pi 3 pulsations, centered at a location within the westward auroral electrojet appears to be associated directly with the generation of that electrojet.     

A theoretical and empirical study of the response of the high latitude thermosphere to the sense of the “Y” component of the interplanetary magnetic field

The strength and direction of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) controls the transfer of solar wind momentum and energy to the high latitude thermosphere in a direct fashion. The sense of “ Y” component of the IMF (BY) creates a significant asymmetry of the magnetospheric convection pattern as mapped onto the high latitude thermosphere and ionosphere. The resulting response of the polar thermospheric winds during periods when BY is either positive or negative is quite distinct, with pronounced changes in the relative strength of thermospheric winds in the dusk-dawn parts of the polar cap and in the dawn part of the auroral oval. In a study of four periods when there was a clear signature of BY, observed by the ISEE-3 satellite, with observations of polar winds and electric fields from the Dynamics Explorer-2 satellite and with wind observations by a ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometer located in Kiruna, Northern Sweden, it is possible to explain features of the high latitude thermospheric circulation using three dimensional global models including BY dependent, asymmetric, polar convection fields. Ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers often observe anomalously low zonal wind velocities in the (Northern) dawn auroral oval during periods of extremely high geomagnetic activity when BY is positive. Conversely, for BY negative, there is an early transition from westward to southward and eastward winds in the evening auroral oval (excluding the effects of auroral substorms), and extremely large eastward (sunward) winds may be driven in the auroral oval after magnetic midnight. These observations are matched by the observation of strong anti-sunward polar-cap wind jets from the DE-2 satellite, on the dusk side with BY negative, and on the dawn side with BY positive.     

A model of ionospheric F-2 region storms in middle latitudes

The proposed ionospheric storm model is based on a heat source located at magnetic noon on Feldstein's auroral oval. The rotation of the Earth produces an apparent motion of the source which is greater than the speed of the disturbance. This gives rise to a wake or front which sweeps over the globe and determines the onset time of the negative phase which results from a change in chemical composition. At the front, focussing will occur which accounts for the sudden drop in electron density (or contents) sometimes observed. The calculated onset times of the negative phase are compared with observations for a number of storms. The local onset times vary from 12 at the latitude of the source to around 24 at 10° geomagnetic latitude. This model predicts that the onset of the negative phase at a given location, for storm which commence between about 2000 LT to about 1000 LT, is independent of the time of storm commencement.     

Magnetic pulsation Pi2 and substorm onset

Coincidence between the onset of sudden brightening of the auroral arc in the auroral oval and the onset of Pi2 magnetic pulsation in low latitudes is examined based on the auroral data obtained at a chain of stations in Alaska and the Pi2 data obtained at the low-latitude station Onagawa. The result shows that the low-latitude Pi2 occurs almost simultaneously with the sudden brightening of the auroral arc, i.e. the onset of an auroral substorm (T = 0). It is concluded that the onset of substorms can be identified quite well with the onset of the low-latitude Pi2.     

Conjugate effects in the generation of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) in the F-region

A rapid onset of auroral absorptions was simultaneously recorded by a chain of standard riometers, situated in the northern and southern magneto-conjugate areas, during a period of pronounced substorm activity. The first absorption peak was followed by sequential disturbance patterns in the occurrence of the F-region parameters, virtual height (h′F) and spread - F, as deduced from the standard ionosonde data obtained over a wide range of latitudes in both hemispheres. The disturbances were consistent with the simultaneous occurrences of separate trains of large-scale ionospheric disturbances (TIDs), propagating equatorwards from the southern and northern auroral zones. It is suggested that TIDs were generated by an impulse-like increase in the conjugate particle precipitations, inferred from the riometer records. The precipitation pattern was limited to a high-latitude shell whose equatorwards edge was contained between L-values 5.0 and 5.3. The auroral sources of TIDs appeared to have large linear dimensions, extending at least 17 degrees in longitude.