Features of High-Latitude Ionospheric Irregularities Development as Revealed by Ground-Based GPS Observations,Satellite-Borne GPS Observations and Satellite In Situ Measurements over the Territory of Russia during the Geomagnetic Storm on March 17–18, 2015

The dynamic picture of the response of the high- and mid-latitude ionosphere to the strong geomagnetic disturbances on March 17–18, 2015, has been studied with ground-based and satellite observations, mainly, by transionospheric measurements of delays of GPS (Global Positioning System) signals. The advantages of the joint use of ground-based GPS measurements and GPS measurements on board of the Swarm Low-Earth-Orbit satellite mission for monitoring of the appearance of ionospheric irregularities over the territory of Russia are shown for the first time. The results of analysis of ground-based and space-borne GPS observations, as well as satellite, in situ measurements, revealed large-scale ionospheric plasma irregularities observed over the territory of Russia in the latitude range of 50°–85° N during the main phase of the geomagnetic storm. The most intense ionospheric irregularities were detected in the auroral zone and in the region of the main ionospheric trough (MIT). It has been found that sharp changes in the phase of the carrier frequency of the navigation signal from all tracked satellites were recorded at all GPS stations located to the North from 55° MLAT. The development of a deep MIT was related to dynamic processes in the subauroral ionosphere, in particular, with electric fields of the intense subauroral polarization stream. Analysis of the electron and ion density values obtained by instruments on board of the Swarm and DMSP satellites showed that the zone of highly structured auroral ionosphere extended at least to heights of 850–900 km.     

Relationship between auroral oval poleward boundary intensifications and magnetic field variations in the solar wind

As a rule, bright auroral arcs evolve near the poleward boundary of the auroral oval at the growth phase of a substorm, a phenomenon that is known to occur near the poleward edge of the auroral oval. The closeness of these arcs to the projection of the magnetic separatrix on the night side suggests that their generation is related to magnetic reconnection in the magnetospheric tail in a particular way. In this study this suggestion is confirmed by the fact that integral brightness of the auroral oval at the poleward edge correlates with magnetic field structures in the solar wind that are observed by ACE and Wind satellites at distances of 50–300 R_E upstream and are shifted towards the magnetospheric tail with time delays of ~ 10–80 min, consistent with measurements of the solar wind velocity. About 50 examples of this correlation have been found. The possible physical mechanisms of the effect observed are discussed.     

Polar thermospheric response to solar magneticcloud/coronal mass ejection interactions with themagnetosphere

The Solar Magnetic Cloud (SMC)/Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) event of January1997 triggered auroral displays in all sectors of the auroral oval as well as in the polar cap region.Near infrared emissions from these auroras were recorded simultaneously in the night sector overSondrestromfjord (Sonde), Greenland, in the day sector over Longyearbyen, Svalbard and in thepolar cap region over Eureka, Canada. The spectral distributions of these emissions indicateprecipitation of electrons with average energy (E_AV) of (500±100) eV,dissipating most of their energy around (180±20) km height (h_max) in thethermosphere. These findings are consistent with the concurrent auroral ionization profilesrecorded by the Incoherent Scatter Radar soundings at Sonde. In contrast, most of the nighttimeauroras, not related to SMC/CME events, are excited by electrons with E_AV > a few keV and peak in the lower thermosphere with h_max around 110 km.Similarly, normal dayside cusp auroras and polar cap drizzle excited emissions emanate from theupper thermosphere above 200 km altitude. SMC/CME related auroras were also observed inOctober 1995 at Sonde, and in May 1996 as well as in May 1997 at the South Pole Station inAntarctica. Spectral characteristics, and hence E_AV and h_max, of all these other SMC/CME related auroras, are similar to those of the January 1997event. These observations suggest that during a significant part of the period when SMC/CMEplasmas and fields interact with the magnetosphere, relatively low energy electrons precipitate inthe thermosphere. Such SMC/CME triggered auroras interact with the middle thermosphereconstituents in the 160–200 km height region. The latter region is inaccessible for remote sensingits composition and thermodynamics in normal auroras, which generally peak at lower heights; theSMC/CME events provide the opportunity for such investigations.     

Response of the night aurora to a negative sudden impulse

Data from the meridian scanning photometers of the NORSTAR network and all-sky cameras of the THEMIS network were used for a detailed study of the response of night auroras to the sharp decrease of the solar wind dynamic pressure on September 28, 2009. The decrease in dynamic pressure was accompanied by a corresponding depression of the magnetic field in the SYM-H index and the origin of a negative sudden impulse (SI) with a duration of 5–8 min and amplitude of 150–200 nT in the horizontal component of the magnetic field at stations of the night sector of the auroral zone. The magnetic impulse was preceded by a long calm magnetic period, although the IMF Bz-component was negative for ~1.5 hour before the SI ^–. The commencement of the SI ^–, which was determined by variations in the magnetic field at ~0650 UT, was accompanied by a sharp increase in the intensity of discrete forms of polar auroras in the midnight sector of the auroral zone and their fast propagation to the pole. Approximately 6–8 min after the SI ^–, the auroral intensity in the emissions, which were excited by the fluxes of precipitated electrons and protons, quickly began to decrease in the night sector. Analysis of the optical observations showed the two-stage character of the response of the night auroras to the SI ^– in the considered event: first, fast movement of the discrete aurora forms to the pole with a significant increase in their intensity, and a further fast decrease in auroral intensity with a delay of ~6–8 min relative to the SI ^–. The possible reasons for such aurora behavior are discussed.     

Spatial distribution of conductances and currents associated with a north-south auroral form during a multiple-substorm period

Using the method of characteristics to invert ground-based data of the ground magnetic field disturbance and of the ionospheric electric field, we obtain spatial distributions of ionospheric conductances, currents, and field-aligned currents (FACs) associated with a north-south auroral form that drifts westwards over northern Scandinavia around 2200 UT on December 2, 1977. This auroral form is one in a sequence of such north-south structures observed by all-sky cameras, and appears 14 min after the last of several breakups during that extremely disturbed night. Our analysis shows that the ionospheric Hall conductance reaches values above 200 S in the center of the form, and upward flowing FACs of up to 25 μA/m² are concentrated near its westward and equatorward edge. The strong upward flowing FACs are fed by an area of more distributed, but still very strong downward-flowing FACs northeastward of the auroral form. In contrast to the conductances, the electric field is only slightly affected by the passage of the form. We point out similarities and differences of our observations and results to previously reported observations and models of ‘auroral fingers’, ‘north-south aurora’, and ‘auroral streamers’ which are suggested to be ionospheric manifestations of bursty bulk flows in the plasma sheet.     

Dispersion of surface waves recorded in Athens

Summary The records at Athens of 85 earthquakes with epicenters in several regions on the earth were used to determine group velocities along thirty five paths. The mean crustal thickness along each path has been estimated by comparing the observations withPress's standard curves. A linear relation has been found between the mean crustal thickness and mean elevation along each path. This relation is in agreement with Airy's isostatic hypothesis. Determination of Love wave dispersion along five paths and Rayleigh wave dispersion along two paths in southeastern Europe and northern Asia Minor gave values from 35 to 45 km for the crustal thickness in this region.     

A large vertical wind in the thermosphere at the auroral oval/polar cap boundary seen simultaneously from Mawson and Davis,Antarctica

Ground-based Fabry–Perot spectrometer observations from the Australian Antarctic stations of Davis and Mawson show an upward wind ≥100 m s⁻¹ in the thermosphere at ∼240 km altitude on the night of Day of Year 159 in 1997. The wind was from a region located poleward of the poleward edge of the discrete auroral oval, and is identified as a further event of the type seen at Mawson, and elsewhere, in earlier work. The upward wind was first seen over Davis station at ∼22:00 UT. As the auroral oval moved northward the region of upward wind followed, and was seen at Mawson (some 4° magnetically north of Davis) just over 1 h later. It is shown that the presence of the large upward wind does, at times, affect the horizontal wind inferred from the off-zenith observations. Correcting the affected measurements for the non-zero upward wind leads to a horizontal wind field more consistent with that derived from observations before and after the vertical wind event. A lower limit of the area of the region of upward wind over Mawson and Davis on this night is estimated as ∼6×10¹¹ m². The estimated power required to drive the upward wind over this area at 240 km altitude is of order 6×10⁹ W. We estimate that this represents between 3 and 7% of the geomagnetic power input in the southern hemisphere during this interval.     

Analysis of latitudinal distribution of Pi2 geomagnetic pulsations using the generalized variance method

The spatial dynamics of bursts of geomagnetic Pi2-type pulsations during a typical event of a magnetospheric substorm (April 13, 2010) drifting to the pole was investigated using the method of generalized variance characterizing the integral time increment of the total horizontal amplitude of the wave at a given point in the selected time interval. The digital data of Scandinavian profile observations from IMAGE magnetometers with 10-second sampling and data of the INTERMAGNET project observations at the equatorial, middle-latitude and subauroral latitudes with a 1-second sampling were used in the analysis. It was shown that Pi2 pulsation bursts in a frequency band of 8–20 mHz appear simultaneously on a global scale: from the polar to equatorial latitudes with maximum amplitudes at latitudes of the maximum intensity of the auroral electrojet and with a maximum amplitude of geomagnetic pulsations Pi3 within a band of 1.5–6 mHz. The first (left-polarized) intensive Pi2 burst appeared at auroral latitudes several minutes after breakup, while the second (right-polarized) burst occurred 15 min after breakup but at higher (polar) latitudes where the substorm had displaced by that time. The direction of wave-polarization vector rotation was opposite for auroral and subauroral latitudes, but it was identical at the equator and in the subauroral zone. The pulsation amplitude at the equator was maximal in the night sector.     

Comparison of ionospheric equivalent slab thickness with bottomside digisonde profile over Wuhan

A comparison of the diurnal and seasonal variations in the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness (τ) and bottomside slab thickness (B0) is presented based on the observation during high solar activities at a mid-latitude station—Wuhan (114.4°E, 30.6°N). The investigated data include foF2, hmF2, B0, B1, and TEC, and are derived from the measured ionogram and GPS receiver over Wuhan from April 1999 to March 2000. The results show that τ and B0 are highly/weakly correlated during the day/night, respectively. Furthermore, a comprehensive discussion of the relation between τ, B0, and hmF2 for geomagnetic storm events is provided in this paper.     

Isolated nighttime substorms and morning geomagnetic Pc5 pulsations from ground-based and satellite (THEMIS) observations

The analysis results of a complex of phenomena that were developing in the evening and morning magnetospheric and ionospheric sectors during two events (January 18 and February 19, 2008) are presented. The analysis is based on the observation data in the magnetotail from the THEMIS satellites and ground-based observations in the morning (MIRACLE network) and nighttime (THEMIS ground-based network) sectors. The events with moderate substorms in the nighttime sector were preceded by strong geomagnetic Pc5 pulsations in the morning sector, the regime of which changed during the development of auroral disturbances. The substorms were accompanied by dipolizations in the magnetotail at distances of ~10 Re and unexpected jump-like fluxes of ～200-keV electrons. The fluxes appeared within several minutes after a breakup at three central THEMIS satellites simultaneously spaced up to 1.7 Re. According with the ASC data at the NAL observatory (3 frames/min) and with the THEMIS network of ASC data, onset of auroral activations in the night and morning sectors occurred simultaneously. Probable reasons for the sudden suppression or intensification of Pc5 pulsations are discussed.     

Monitoring ionospheric response to auroral electrojet activity from sub-auroral to equatorial latitudes in the East Asian-Australian longitudinal sector over a solar cycle (1978–1986)

Large auroral and ionospheric databases, covering a solar cycle (1978–1986), were used to obtain a comprehensive evaluation of the auroral electrojet effect (as inferred from the auroral AE-index) on the ionospheric response in both hemispheres from sub-auroral to equatorial latitudes. The study was limited to the East Asian-Australian longitudinal sector where data are available from a chain of nine latitudinally displaced stations. Enhancement in the standard ionospheric parameter, the virtual height of the F-region (Δh′F) recorded by vertical-incidence ionosondes, was used to trace the ionospheric disturbance.Unlike the previous studies of this type, the total magnetic and ionospheric data, in hourly intervals, were used to derive the correlation coefficient r between two intrinsically different parameters: Δh′F and AE-index for the local nighttime (20–06 LT or 10–20 UT). A suitable averaging and smoothing technique was applied to the data to enhance the correlation trend between these parameters. It is evident that the height fluctuations of sub-auroral ionosphere (for stations: Yakutsk in Siberia and Hobart and Canberra in Australia) closely resemble the auroral electrojet surges, inferred from the AE-index over the solar cycle. The linear coefficient r is highly significant, being close to 0.6 for most of the time; during the years of maximum auroral activity (1981–1983) r approached 0.8. The consistently high correlation r, regardless of the season, applies only to the most poleward station used in this study, Yakutsk. The sub-auroral stations (Hobart and Canberra) positioned further equatorwards show a strong decline in the correlation coefficient r during the local summer but have high r during winter and the equinoxes. There is a general decline in r towards lower latitudes, suggesting that the response to auroral substorms is on the whole diminishing with the distance from the auroral source to the equator. There appears to be an anomalous increase in r as observed around 10° invariant latitude.These findings appear to be the first long-term proof of the symmetry of the ionospheric responses to auroral substorm activity in the northern and southern auroral ovals which is an important contribution to space climatology. It is suggested that the aurorally generated acoustic gravity waves (AGWs), manifested in the global ionosphere as large scale travelling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs), may contribute to the observed auroral-ionospheric phenomena.     

Statistical observations of spatial characteristics of Pi1B pulsations

We have examined the spatial and temporal correlation of high-latitude Pi1B and Pi2 pulsations, mid-latitude Pi2 pulsations, and auroral substorm onsets identified in the IMAGE far ultraviolet imager (FUV) data. Numerous search coil and fluxgate magnetometers at high latitudes (65–80° in Antarctica and Greenland) and mid-latitude fluxgate magnetometers are used. We find that Pi1B onset times agree well with onset times of intense isolated auroral substorms identified by the IMAGE FUV instrument: Pi1B onsets occurred within the 2 min cadence of the imager. For any given event, we find that Pi1B are localized to approximately 4 h of local time and 7° of magnetic latitude relative to the initial auroral brightening location as observed by IMAGE FUV. Not surprisingly, we also find that Pi1B pulsations occur typically between 2100 and 0200 MLT. Comparison to Pi2 records from these and other lower-latitude stations shows that in almost all cases Pi1B activity coincides within ±2 min with Pi2 activity. Power law fits showed that Pi1B amplitude fell off with distance^−2.9 for two strong events (i.e., similar to the r⁻³ falloff of the signal from a dipolar source), and only slightly more rapidly than the falloff of Pi2 activity (d^−2.8). Given the global nature of Pi2 pulsations versus the localized nature of Pi1B events in this study, we conclude that the mechanism that drives Pi1B pulsations is likely different from that responsible for Pi2 pulsations.     

Intercomparison of New Zealand filter ozonometer and Dobson spectrophotometer total ozone measurements

A commercial version of the prototype New Zealand narrowband interference filter instrument has been run at Garmisch-Partenkirchen since autumn 1977. The vicinity of the Dobson stations Hohenpeissenberg and Arosa permitted a check of the filter instrument's utility, reliability and long-term stability in total ozone measurement by (i) station to station-or short-range intercomparisons of daily means and (ii) a several days' direct intercomparison at Arosa in spring 1978.The regression analysis with the Hohenpeissenberg data-covering the five month autumn-winter 1977/78 period with highly variable ozone-shows that the filter instrument's direct-sun modeX _AD total ozone values were systematically too low by a conversion factor of 0.93. The excellent proportionality between the instruments is indicated by the standard deviation of only 1,3%. The (–7.0±1.3%) bias perfectly agrees with the result reported byBasher [1] for a similar, yet direct, intercomparison.During the direct Arosa intercomparison the filter instrument also tracked down short-time variations in a remarkable, though biased, parallelism with the Dobson instruments, and theX _AD daily means fit well into the prognostic relationship derived from the preceding autumn-winter short-range intercomparison.A creeping deterioration of the characteristics of the 305.5 nm double filter then prevented any furtherX _AD total ozone intercomparison. No final decision is possible whether this behaviour after a half year's run is typical or just an unusual exception. The otherwise excellent long-term stability is demonstrated by the comparison of theX _CD daily means with the HohenpeissenbergX _AD data for a 1 1/2 year's period (autumn 1977–spring 1979), resulting in the same bias relationship as for theX _AD total ozone measurements.     

Thermal tides and studies to tune the mechanistic tidal model using UARS observations

Monthly simulations of the thermal diurnal and semidiurnal tides are compared to High-Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) and Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) wind and temperature measurements on the Upper-Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). There is encouraging agreement between the observations and the linear global mechanistic tidal model results both for the diurnal and semidiurnal components in the equatorial and mid-latitude regions. This gives us the confidence to outline the first steps of an assimilative analysis/interpretation for tides, dissipation, and mean flow using a combination of model results and the global measurements from HRDI and WINDII. The sensitivity of the proposed technique to the initial guess employed to obtain a best fit to the data by tuning model parameters is discussed for the January and March 1993 cases, when the WINDII day and night measurements of the meridional winds between 90 and 110 km are used along with the daytime HRDI measurements. Several examples for the derivation of the tidal variables and decomposition of the measured winds into tidal and mean flow components using this approach are compared with previous tidal estimates and modeling results for the migrating tides. The seasonal cycle of the derived diurnal tidal amplitudes are discussed and compared with radar observation between 80 and 100 km and 40° S and 40°N.     

On the occurrence and characteristics of intense low-altitude electric fields observed by Freja

High-resolution measurements by the double probe electric field instrument on the Freja satellite are presented. The observations show that extremely intense (up to 1 V m⁻¹) and fine-structured (<1 km) electric fields exist at auroral latitudes within the altitude regime explored by Freja (up to 1700 km). The intense field events typically occur within the early morning sector of the auroral oval (01-07 MLT) during times of geomagnetic activity. In contrast to the observations within the auroral acceleration region characterized by intense converging electric fields associated with electron precipitation, upward ion beams and upward field-aligned currents, the intense electric fields observed by Freja are often found to be diverging and located within regions of downward field-aligned currents outside the electron aurora. Moreover, the intense fields are observed in conjunction with precipitating and transversely energized ions of energies 0.5-1 keV and may play an important role in the ion heating. The observations suggest that the intense electric field events are associated with small-scale low-conductivity ionospheric regions void of auroral emissions such as east-west aligned dark filaments or vortex streets of black auroral curls located between or adjacent to auroral arcs within the morningside diffuse auroral region. We suggest that these intense fields also exist at ionospheric altitudes although no such observations have yet been made. This is possible since the height-integrated conductivity associated with the dark filaments may be as low as 0.1 S or less. In addition, Freja electric field data collected outside the auroral region are discussed with particular emphasis on subauroral electric fields which are observed within the 19–01 MLT sector between the equatorward edge of the auroral oval and the inner edge of the ring current.     

对流电场、场向电流和极光区电集流变化的地磁响应

对流电场、场向电流和极光区电集流是磁层一电离层耦合的主要物理过程．它们的演化发展时间分别为几分钟至半小时的量级．本文用１００°Ｅ和３００°Ｅ的两个地磁经度链附近各１１个台站的１ｍｉｎ均值地磁Ｈ和Ｚ分量资料,分析了１９９４年４月１６-１７日磁暴期间磁层耦合过程对极光区和中低纬区电离层扰动的地磁特征．强磁暴开始时,台站所处的地方时位置不同,则观测到的电离层和地磁响应也完全不同．这是磁层对流和一、二区场向电流共同作用的结果．一般说,扰时极光区的西向电集流变化更为强烈．随着耦合的发展,极光区范围会向南北扩展,电集流中心带则向低纬侧移动．在中低纬区,二区场向电流的建立能屏蔽一区场向电流所产生的扰动,并引起反向的电流及地磁变化．由此,中低纬区夜间有可能出现短时间的东向电场,又可通过ＥＸＢ的垂直向上漂移作用抬升Ｆ层等离子体,并发生同一经度链附近的多站电离层ｈ＇Ｆ同时突增现象．另一方面,磁赤道附近的台站则更多地受内磁层赤道环电流和电离层赤道电集流的影响．     

A meridional surface wind speed profile in MacRobertson Land,Antarctica

Summary A surface wind vector profile along the 62° East meridian in Antarctica is constructed from field observations extending from 600 kilometers inland to 16 kilometers offshore. The theory of gravity winds proposed byF. K. Ball is used successfully to explain this profile.     

Plasma structure within poleward-moving cusp/cleft auroral transients: EISCAT Svalbard radar observations and an explanation in terms of large local time extent of events

We report high-resolution observations of the southward-IMF cusp/cleft ionosphere made on December 16th 1998 by the EISCAT (European incoherent scatter) Svalbard radar (ESR), and compare them with observations of dayside auroral luminosity, as seen at a wavelength of 630 nm by a meridian scanning photometer at Ny Ålesund, and of plasma flows, as seen by the CUTLASS (co-operative UK twin location auroral sounding system) Finland HF radar. The optical data reveal a series of poleward-moving transient red-line (630 nm) enhancements, events that have been associated with bursts in the rate of magnetopause reconnection generating new open flux. The combined observations at this time have strong similarities to predictions of the effects of soft electron precipitation modulated by pulsed reconnection, as made by Davis and Lockwood (1996); however, the effects of rapid zonal flow in the ionosphere, caused by the magnetic curvature force on the newly opened field lines, are found to be a significant additional factor. In particular, it is shown how enhanced plasma loss rates induced by the rapid convection can explain two outstanding anomalies of the 630 nm transients, namely how minima in luminosity form between the poleward-moving events and how events can re-brighten as they move poleward. The observations show how cusp/cleft aurora and transient poleward-moving auroral forms appear in the ESR data and the conditions which cause enhanced 630 nm emission in the transients: they are an important first step in enabling the ESR to identify these features away from the winter solstice when supporting auroral observations are not available.     

Interplanetary magnetic field By control of dayside auroras

The effect of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) By component on the dayside auroral oval from Viking UV measurements for March–November 1986 is studied. Observations of dayside auroras from Viking UV images for large positive (15 cases) and negative (22 cases) IMF By (∣By∣>4 nT), suggest that: (1) the intensity of dayside auroras tends to increase for negative IMF By and to decrease for positive By, so that negative IMF By conditions seem preferable for observations of dayside auroras; (2) for negative IMF By, the auroral oval tends to be narrow and continuous throughout the noon meridian without any noon gap or any strong undulation in the auroral distribution. For positive IMF By, a sharp decrease and spreading of auroral activity is frequently observed in the post-noon sector, a strong undulation in the poleward boundary of the auroral oval around noon, and the formation of auroral forms poleward of the oval; and (3) the observed features of dayside auroras are in reasonable agreement with the expected distribution of upward field-aligned currents associated with the IMF By in the noon sector.     

Thermospheric wind field over Mawson and Davis,Antarctica; simultaneous observations by two Fabry–Perot spectrometers of λ630 nm emission

The thermopheric oxygen λ630 nm emission has been observed using high-resolution Fabry–Perot spectrometers at Mawson (67.6°S, 62.9°E) and Davis (68.6°S, 78.0°E), Antarctica. A new technique, combining the results from the two instruments, is used to derive vector wind fields. The technique is described and applied to five nights of simultaneous cardinal point data obtained in 1997. Solar flux was low during this interval, typically F_10.7=75. Of the five nights two were magnetically disturbed and three were quiet. The observations for the disturbed nights were compared to a TIEGCM model run and reasonable agreement was found in the first half of the night. On one of the disturbed nights a closed evening circulation cell and cross-polar jet could be identified in our data. On none of the nights was a morning circulation cell evident. Auroral imager data were used to locate the auroral oval. For several hours around magnetic midnight the auroral oval produces doldrums in the thermospheric winds that are not described by the model. Auroral doldrums are also seen on the quiet nights which otherwise maintain a flow approximately consistent with a pressure-gradient driver.