Observations of polar patches generated by solar wind Alfvén wave coupling to the dayside magnetosphere

A long series of polar patches was observed by ionosondes and an all-sky imager during a disturbed period (K_p = 7- and IMF B_z <0). The ionosondes measured electron densities of up to 9 × 10¹¹ m⁻³ in the patch center, an increase above the density minimum between patches by a factor of ≈4.5. Bands of F-region irregularities generated at the equatorward edge of the patches were tracked by HF radars. The backscatter bands were swept northward and eastward across the polar cap in a fan-like formation as the afternoon convection cell expanded due to the IMF B_y > 0. Near the north magnetic pole, an all-sky imager observed the 630-nm emission patches of a distinctly band-like shape drifting northeastward to eastward. The 630-nm emission patches were associated with the density patches and backscatter bands. The patches originated in, or near, the cusp footprint where they were formed by convection bursts (flow channel events, FCEs) structuring the solar EUV-produced photoionization and the particle-produced auroral/cusp ionization by segmenting it into elongated patches. Just equatorward of the cusp footprint Pc5 field line resonances (FLRs) were observed by magnetometers, riometers and VHF/HF radars. The AC electric field associated with the FLRs resulted in a poleward-progressing zonal flow pattern and backscatter bands. The VHF radar Doppler spectra indicated the presence of steep electron density gradients which, through the gradient drift instability, can lead to the generation of the ionospheric irregularities found in patches. The FLRs and FCEs were associated with poleward-progressing DPY currents (Hall currents modulated by the IMF B_y) and riometer absorption enhancements. The temporal and spatial characteristics of the VHF backscatter and associated riometer absorptions closely resembled those of poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs). In the solar wind, IMP 8 observed large amplitude Alfvén waves that were correlated with Pc5 pulsations observed by the ground magnetometers, riometers and radars. It is concluded that the FLRs and FCEs that produced patches were driven by solar wind Alfvén waves coupling to the dayside magnetosphere. During a period of southward IMF the dawn-dusk electric field associated with the Alfvén waves modulated the subsolar magnetic reconnection into pulses that resulted in convection flow bursts mapping to the ionospheric footprint of the cusp.     

A comparison of solar wind and ionospheric plasma contributions to the September 24–25, 1998 magnetic storm

We have used a global time-dependent magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the magnetosphere and particle tracing calculations to determine the access of solar wind ions to the magnetosphere and the access of ionospheric O⁺ ions to the storm-time near-Earth plasma sheet and ring current during the September 24–25, 1998 magnetic storm. We found that both sources have access to the plasma sheet and ring current throughout the initial phase of the storm. Notably, the dawnside magnetosphere is magnetically open to the solar wind, allowing solar wind H⁺ ions direct access to the near-Earth plasma sheet and ring current. The supply of O⁺ ions from the dayside cusp to the plasma sheet varies because of changes in the solar wind dynamic pressure and in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). Most significantly, ionospheric O⁺ from the dayside cusp loses access to the plasma sheet and ring current soon after the southward turning of the IMF, but recovers after the reconfiguration of the magnetosphere following the passage of the magnetic cloud. On average, during the first 3 h after the sudden storm commencement (SSC), the number density of solar wind H⁺ ions is a factor of 2–5 larger than the number density of ionospheric O⁺ ions in the plasma sheet and ring current. However, by 04:00 UT, ∼4 h after the SSC, O⁺ becomes the dominant species in the ring current and carries more energy density than H⁺ ions in both the plasma sheet and ring current.     

Planetary distribution of geomagnetic pulsations during a geomagnetic storm at solar minimum

We investigate the features of the planetary distribution of wave phenomena (geomagnetic pulsations) in the Earth’s magnetic shell (the magnetosphere) during a strong geomagnetic storm on December 14–15, 2006, which is untypical of the minimum phase of solar activity. The storm was caused by the approach of the interplanetary magnetic cloud towards the Earth’s magnetosphere. The study is based on the analysis of 1-min data of global digital geomagnetic observations at a few latitudinal profiles of the global network of ground-based magnetic stations. The analysis is focused on the Pc5 geomagnetic pulsations, whose frequencies fall in the band of 1.5–7 mHz (T ～ 2–10 min), on the fluctuations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and in the solar wind density in this frequency band. It is shown that during the initial phase of the storm with positive IMF Bz, most intense geomagnetic pulsations were recorded in the dayside polar regions. It was supposed that these pulsations could probably be caused by the injection of the fluctuating streams of solar wind into the Earth’s ionosphere in the dayside polar cusp region. The fluctuations arising in the ionospheric electric currents due to this process are recorded as the geomagnetic pulsations by the ground-based magnetometers. Under negative IMF Bz, substorms develop in the nightside magnetosphere, and the enhancement of geomagnetic pulsations was observed in this latitudinal region on the Earth’s surface. The generation of these pulsations is probably caused by the fluctuations in the field-aligned magnetospheric electric currents flowing along the geomagnetic field lines from the substorm source region. These geomagnetic pulsations are not related to the fluctuations in the interplanetary medium. During the main phase of the magnetic storm, when fluctuations in the interplanetary medium are almost absent, the most intense geomagnetic pulsations were observed in the dawn sector in the region corresponding to the closed magnetosphere. The generation of these pulsations is likely to be associated with the resonance of the geomagnetic field lines. Thus, it is shown that the Pc5 pulsations observed on the ground during the magnetic storm have a different origin and a different planetary distribution.     

Polar cap particle precipitation and aurora: Review and commentary

Polar rain has a beautiful set of symmetry properties, individually established, but not previously discussed collectively, which can be organized by a single unifying principle. The key polar rain properties are favored hemisphere (controlled by the interplanetary magnetic field B_x), dawn/dusk gradient (IMF B_y), merging rate (IMF B_z or more generally dΦ_MP/dt), nightside/dayside gradient, and seasonal effect. We argue that all five properties involve variants on a single theme: the further downstream a field line exits the magnetosphere (or less directly points toward the solar wind electron heat flux), the weaker the polar rain. This effect is the result of the requirements of charge quasi-neutrality, and because the ion thermal velocity declines and the tailward ion bulk flow velocity rises moving down tail from the frontside magnetopause.Polar cap arcs (or more properly, high-latitude sun-aligned arcs) are largely complementary to the polar rain, occurring most frequently when the dayside merging rate is low, and thus when polar rain is weak. Sun-aligned arcs are often considered as originating either in the polar rain or the expansion of the plasma sheet into the polar cap. In fact three quite distinct types of sun-aligned high-latitude arcs exist, two common, and one rare. One type of arc occurs as intensifications of the polar rain, and is common, but weak, typically <0.1 ergs/cm² s, and lacks associated ion precipitation. A second category of Sun-aligned arcs with energy flux >0.1 ergs/cm² s usually occurs adjacent to the auroral oval, and includes ion precipitation. The plasma regime of these common, and at times intense, arcs is often distinct from the oval which they abut. Convection alone does not specify the open/closed nature of these arcs, because multiple narrow convection reversals are common around such arcs, and the arcs themselves can be embedded within flows that are either sunward or anti-sunward. These observational facts do not neatly fit into either a plasma sheet origin or a polar rain origin (e.g., the necessity to abut the auroral oval, and the presence of ions does not fit the properties of polar rain, which can in any event be nearly absent for northward interplanetary magnetic field). One theory is that such arcs are associated with merging tailward of the cusp. Both of these common types of sun-aligned arcs fade within about 30 min of a southward IMF turning.The third, and rarest, category of sun-aligned arcs are intense, well detached from the auroral oval, contain plasma sheet origin ion precipitation as well as electrons, and persist for hours after a southward turning. These intense detached sun-aligned arcs can rapidly cross the polar cap, sometimes multiple times. Most events discussed in the literature as “theta-aurora” do not fit into this category (for example, although they may appear detached in images, they abut the oval in particle data, and do not have the persistence of detached events under southward IMF turnings). It is possible that no single theory can account for all three types of sun-aligned arcs.Solar energetic particle (SEP) events are at times used to demarcate polar cap open/closed boundaries. Although this works at times, examples exist where this method fails (e.g., very quiet conditions for which SEP reaches below L=4), and the method should be used with caution. Finally, it is shown that, although it is rare, the polar cap can at times completely close.     

Global aspects of solar wind–ionosphere interactions

Recent observations have quantified the auroral wind O⁺ outflow in response to magnetospheric inputs to the ionosphere, notably Poynting energy flux and precipitating electron density. For moderate to high activity periods, ionospheric O⁺ is observed to become a significant or dominant component of plasma pressure in the inner plasma sheet and ring current regions. Using a global circulation model of magnetospheric fields and its imposed ionospheric boundary conditions, we evaluate the global ionospheric plasma response to local magnetospheric conditions imposed by the simulation and evaluate magnetospheric circulation of solar wind H⁺, polar wind H⁺, and auroral wind O⁺. We launch and track the motions of millions of test particles in the global fields, launched at randomly distributed positions and times. Each particle is launched with a flux weighting and perpendicular and parallel energies randomly selected from defined thermal ranges appropriate to the launch point. One sequence is driven by a two-hour period of southward interplanetary magnetic field for average solar wind intensity. A second is driven by a 2-h period of enhanced solar wind dynamic pressure for average interplanetary field. We find that the simulated ionospheric O⁺ becomes a significant plasma pressure component in the inner plasma sheet and outer ring current region, particularly when the solar wind is intense or its magnetic field is southward directed. We infer that the reported empirical scalings of auroral wind O⁺ outflows are consistent with a substantial pressure contribution to the inner plasma sheet and plasma source surrounding the ring current. This result violates the common assumption that the ionospheric load is entirely confined to the F layer, and shows that the ionosphere is often an important dynamic element throughout the magnetosphere during moderate to large solar wind disturbances.     

Properties of electric turbulence in the polar cap ionosphere

Small-scale (scales of ∼0.5–256 km) electric fields in the polar cap ionosphere are studied on the basis of measurements of the Dynamics Explorer 2 (DE-2) low-altitude satellite with a polar orbit. Nineteen DE-2 passes through the high-latitude ionosphere from the morning side to the evening side are considered when the IMF z component was southward. A rather extensive polar cap, which could be identified using the ɛ-t spectrograms of precipitating particles with auroral energies, was formed during the analyzed events. It is shown that the logarithmic diagrams (LDs), constructed using the discrete wavelet transform of electric fields in the polar cap, are power law (μ ∼ s ^α). Here, μ is the variance of the detail coefficients of the signal discrete wavelet transform, s is the wavelet scale, and index α characterizes the LD slope. The probability density functions P(δE, s) of the electric field fluctuations δE observed on different scales s are non-Gaussian and have intensified wings. When the probability density functions are renormalized, that is constructed of δE/s ^γ, where γ is the scaling exponent, they lie near a single curve, which indicates that the studied fields are statistically self-similar. In spite of the fact that the amplitude of electric fluctuations in the polar cap is much smaller than in the auroral zone, the quantitative characteristics of field scaling in the two regions are similar. Two possible causes of the observed turbulent structure of the electric field in the polar cap are considered: (1) the structure is transferred from the solar wind, which is known to have turbulent properties, and (2) the structure is generated by convection velocity shears in the region of open magnetic field lines. The detected dependence of the characteristic distribution of turbulent electric fields over the polar cap region on IMF B _y and the correlation of the rms amplitudes of δE fluctuations with IMF B _z and the solar wind transfer function (B _y ² + B _z ²)^1/2sin(θ/2), where θ is the angle between the geomagnetic field and IMF reconnecting on the dayside magnetopause when IMF B _z < 0, together with the absence of dependence on the IMF variability are arguments for the second mechanism.     

Interhemispheric comparison of TDIM E- and F-region ionospheres on 14 January 1988

The USU time-dependent ionospheric model (TDIM) simulated the northern (winter) and southern (summer) ionospheres as they responded to the changing solar wind and geomagnetic activity on 14 January 1988. This period began with moderately disturbed conditions, but as the IMF turned northward, the geomagnetic activity decreased. By 1400 UT, the IMF B_y component became strongly negative with B_z near zero; and eventually B_z turned southward. This began a period of intense activity as a magnetic storm developed. The magnetospheric electric field and auroral electron precipitation drivers for these simulations were obtained from the Naval Research Laboratories (NRL) Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) magnetospheric simulation for this event.The F-region ionospheric simulations contrast the summer–winter hemispheres. Then, the difference in how the two hemispheres respond to the geomagnetic storm is related to the differences in magnetospheric energy deposition in the two hemispheres. This also emphasizes the role played by the E-region in the magnetosphere–ionosphere (M–I) coupling and subsequent lack of conjugacy in the two hemispheres. The F-region’s response to the changing geomagnetic conditions also demonstrates a striking lack of conjugacy. This manifests itself in a well-defined ionospheric morphology in the summer hemisphere and a highly irregular morphology in the winter hemisphere. These differences are found to be associated with the differences in the magnetospheric electric field input.     

Numerical modelling of the thermospheric and ionospheric effects of magnetospheric processes in the cusp region

The thermospheric and ionospheric effects of the precipitating electron flux and field-aligned-current variations in the cusp have been modelled by the use of a new version of the global numerical model of the Earths upper atmosphere developed for studies of polar phenomena. The responses of the electron concentration, ion, electron and neutral temperature, thermospheric wind velocity and electric-field potential to the variations of the precipitating 0.23-keV electron flux intensity and field-aligned current density in the cusp have been calculated by solving the corresponding continuity, momentum and heat balance equations. Features of the atmospheric gravity wave generation and propagation from the cusp region after the electron precipitation and field-aligned current-density increases have been found for the cases of the motionless and moving cusp region. The magnitudes of the disturbances are noticeably larger in the case of the moving region of the precipitation. The thermospheric disturbances are generated mainly by the thermospheric heating due to the soft electron precipitation and propagate to lower latitudes as large-scale atmospheric gravity waves with the mean horizontal velocity of about 690 ms^–1. They reveal appreciable magnitudes at significant distances from the cusp region. The meridional-wind-velocity disturbance at 65° geomagnetic latitude is of the same order (100 ms^–1) as the background wind due to the solar heating, but is oppositely directed. The ionospheric disturbances have appreciable magnitudes at the geomagnetic latitudes 70°–85°. The electron-concentration and -temperature disturbances are caused mainly by the ionization and heating processes due to the precipitation, whereas the ion-temperature disturbances are influence strongly by Joule heating of the ion gas due to the electric-field disturbances in the cusp. The latter strongly influence the zonal- and meridional-wind disturbances as well via the effects of ion drag in the cusp region. The results obtained are of interest because of the location of the     

Long-period geomagnetic pulsations in the quasi-conjugate arctic and antarctic regions during the magnetic storm of April 16–17, 1999

Based on the observations in six pairs of almost conjugate high-latitude stations in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, the spectral and spatial-temporal structures of long-period geomagnetic pulsations (f = 2–5 mHz) during the magnetic storm of April 16–17, 1999, which is characterized by a high (up to 20 nPa) solar wind dynamic pressure, have been studied. It has been indicated that the magnetic storm sudden commencement is accompanied by a symmetrical excitation of np pulsations near the dayside polar cusps with close amplitudes. Under the conditions when IMF B _z > 0 and B _y < 0, strong magnetic field variations with the periods longer than 15–20 min were observed only in the northern polar cap. When IMF B _z and B _y became close to zero, geomagnetic pulsation bursts in both hemispheres were registered simultaneously but differed in the spectral composition and spatial distribution. In the Northern Hemisphere, pulsations were as a rule observed in a more extensive latitude region than in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, the oscillation amplitude maximum was observed at higher latitudes than in the Southern Hemisphere. The pulsation amplitude at geomagnetic latitude lower than 74° was larger in the Arctic Regions than in the Antarctic Regions. This can be explained by sharply different geographic longitudes in the polar cap and latitudes in the auroral zone, which results in a different ionospheric conductivity affecting the amplitude of geomagnetic pulsations.     

Poleward expansion of the westward electrojet depending on the solar wind and IMF parameters

The effect of the interplanetary parameters on the latitudinal position of the substorm westward electrojet is studied in the work. The data from the IMAGE chain of magnetic stations and POLAR and WIND satellites for the period close to the solar activity minimum (1995–1996) and for the period of the solar activity maximum (2000) have been used for this purpose. It has been indicated that the electrojet poleward edge reaches, on average, higher latitudes at a higher solar wind velocity and at a larger (B _s ) IMF southward component. It has been indicated that the average latitude of the westward electrojet center increases with increasing solar wind velocity and decreases with increasing IMF southward component, as a result of which the electrojet center is, specifically, not observed at high geomagnetic latitudes at large values of the IMF southward component.     

Energetic Electrons as a Field Line Topology Tracer in the High Latitude Boundary/CUSP Region: Cluster Rapid Observations

Energetic electrons (e.g., 50 keV) travel along field lines with a high speed of around 20 R_Es⁻¹. These swift electrons trace out field lines in the magnetosphere in a rather short time, and therefore can provide nearly instantaneous information about the changes in the field configuration in regions of geospace. The energetic electrons in the high latitude boundary regions (including the cusp) have been examined in detail by using Cluster/RAPID data for four consecutive high latitude/cusp crossings between 16 March and 19 March 2001. Energetic electrons with high and stable fluxes were observed in the time interval when the IMF had a predominately positive B_z component. These electrons appeared to be associated with a lower plasma density exhibiting no obvious tailward plasma flow (<20 keV). On the other hand, no electrons or only spike-like electron events have been observed in the cusp region during southward IMF. At that time, the plasma density was as high as that in the magnetosheath and was associated with a clear tailward flow. The fact that no stable energetic electron fluxes were observed during southward IMF indicates that the cusp has an open field line geometry. The observations indicate that both the South and North high latitude magnetospheric boundary regions (including both North and South cusp) can be energetic particle trapping regions. The energetic electron observations provide new ways to investigate the dynamic cusp processes. Finally, trajectory tracing of test particles has been performed using the Tsyganenko 96 model; this demonstrates that energetic particles (both ions and electrons) may be indeed trapped in the high latitude magnetosphere.     

High-Altitude CUSP: The Extremely Dynamic Region in Geospace

The high-altitude dayside cusps (both northern and southern) are extremely dynamic regions in geospace. Large diamagnetic cavities with significant fluctuations of the local magnetic field strength have been observed there. These cusp diamagnetic cavities are always there day after day and are as large as 6 R_E Associated with these cavities are charged particles with energies from 20 keV up to 10 MeV. The intensities of the cusp energetic ions have been observed to increase by as much as four orders of the magnitude when compared with regions adjacent to the cusp which includes the magnetosheath. Their seed populations are a mixture of ionospheric and solar wind particles. The measured energetic ion fluxes in the high-altitude cusp are higher than that in both the regions upstream and downstream from the bow shock. Turbulent electric fields with an amplitude of about 10 mV/m are also present in the cusp, and a cusp resonant acceleration mechanism is suggested. The observations indicate that the dayside high-altitude cusp is a key region for transferring the solar wind mass, momentum, and energy into the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Dayside auroras during unusually large positive values of the IMF <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis></Subscript> component

The characteristics of dayside auroras during the large (16–24 nT) positive values of the IMF B _z component, observed on January 14, 1988, during the interaction between the Earth’s magnetosphere and the body of the interplanetary magnetic cloud, have been studied based on the optical observations on Heiss Island. A wide band of diffuse red luminosity with an intensity of 1–2 kilorayleigh (kR) was observed during 6 h in the interval 1030–1630 MLT at latitudes higher than 75° CGL. Rayed auroral arcs, the brightness of which in the 557.7 nm emission sharply increased to 3–7 kR in the postnoon sector immediately after the polarity reversal of the IMF B _y component from positive to negative, were continuously registered within the band. Bright auroral arcs were observed at the equatorward edge of red luminosity. It has been found out that the red auroral intensity increases and the band equatorward boundary shifts to lower latitudes with increasing solar wind dynamic pressure. However, a direct proportional dependence of the variations in the auroral features on the dynamic pressure variations has not been found. It has been concluded that the source of bright discrete auroras is located in the region of the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) on closed geomagnetic field lines. The estimated LLBL thickness is ∼3 R _e . It has been concluded that the intensity of the dayside red band depends on the solar wind plasma density, whereas the position of the position equatorward boundary depends on the dynamic pressure value and its variations.     

ESR and EISCAT observations of the response of the cusp and cleft to IMF orientation changes

We report observations of the cusp/cleft ionosphere made on December 16th 1998 by the EISCAT (European incoherent scatter) VHF radar at Troms and the EISCAT Svalbard radar (ESR). We compare them with observations of the dayside auroral luminosity, as seen by meridian scanning photometers at Ny Ålesund and of HF radar backscatter, as observed by the CUTLASS radar. We study the response to an interval of about one hour when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), monitored by the WIND and ACE spacecraft, was southward. The cusp/cleft aurora is shown to correspond to a spatially extended region of elevated electron temperatures in the VHF radar data. Initial conditions were characterised by a northward-directed IMF and cusp/cleft aurora poleward of the ESR. A strong southward turning then occurred, causing an equatorward motion of the cusp/cleft aurora. Within the equatorward expanding, southward-IMF cusp/cleft, the ESR observed structured and elevated plasma densities and ion and electron temperatures. Cleft ion fountain upflows were seen in association with elevated ion temperatures and rapid eastward convection, consistent with the magnetic curvature force on newly opened field lines for the observed negative IMF B_y. Subsequently, the ESR beam remained immediately poleward of the main cusp/cleft and a sequence of poleward-moving auroral transients passed over it. After the last of these, the ESR was in the polar cap and the radar observations were characterised by extremely low ionospheric densities and downward field-aligned flows. The IMF then turned northward again and the auroral oval contracted such that the ESR moved back into the cusp/cleft region. For the poleward-retreating, northward-IMF cusp/cleft, the convection flows were slower, upflows were weaker and the electron density and temperature enhancements were less structured. Following the northward turning, the bands of high electron temperature and cusp/cleft aurora bifurcated, consistent with both subsolar and lobe reconnection taking place simultaneously. The present paper describes the large-scale behaviour of the ionosphere during this interval, as observed by a powerful combination of instruments. Two companion papers, by Lockwood et al. (2000) and Thorolfsson et al. (2000), both in this issue, describe the detailed behaviour of the poleward-moving transients observed during the interval of southward B_z, and explain their morphology in the context of previous theoretical work.     

Global geomagnetic and auroral response to variations in the solar wind dynamic pressure on April 1, 1997

The geomagnetic and auroral response to the variations in the solar wind dynamic pressure (Pd) are investigated in the periods of positive values of the IMF B _z component. It is shown that the growth of Pd results in the intensification of luminosity along the auroral oval and in the poleward expansion of the poleward boundary of luminosity (PBL) in the nightside part of the oval by ～7° in latitude at a velocity of ～0.5 km/s and is accompanied by an enhancement of the DP2-type current system. A decrease in Pd, accompanied by an abrupt reversal of the IMF B _y polarity from positive to negative, results in an enhancement of the westward electrojet and in a poleward shift of PBL and electrojet center. The conclusion has been made that the available three types of auroral response to Pd variations differ in the azimuthal velocity of the luminosity region or particle precipitation along the auroral oval: V ₁ ～ 30–40 km/s, V ₂ ～ 10, and V ₃ ～ 1 km/s.     

High-latitude geomagnetic disturbances during the initial phase of a recurrent magnetic storm (from February 27 to March 2, 2008)

A complex of geophysical phenomena (geomagnetic pulsations in different frequency ranges, VLF emissions, riometer absorption, and auroras) during the initial phase of a small recurrent magnetic storm that occurred on February 27–March 2, 2008, at a solar activity minimum has been analyzed. The difference between this storm and other typical magnetic storms consisted in that its initial phase developed under a prolonged period of negative IMF B _z values, and the most intense wave-like disturbances during the storm initial phase were observed in the dusk and nighttime magnetospheric sectors rather than in the daytime sector as is observed in the majority of cases. The passage of a dense transient (with N _p reaching 30 cm⁻³) in the solar wind under the southward IMF in the sheath region of the high-speed solar wind stream responsible for the discussed storm caused a great (the AE index is ∼1250 nT) magnetospheric substorm. The appearance of VLF chorus, accompanied by riometer absorption bursts and Pc5 pulsations, in a very long longitudinal interval of auroral latitudes (L ∼ 5) from premidnight to dawn MLT hours has been detected. It has been concluded that a sharp increase in the solar wind dynamic pressure under prolonged negative values of IMF B _z resulted in the global (in longitude) development of electron cyclotron instability in the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

Theoretical developments on the causes of ionospheric outflow

It is now well known that there is a substantial outflow of ionospheric plasma from the terrestrial ionosphere at high latitudes. The outflow consists of light thermal ions (H⁺, He⁺) as well as both light and heavy energized ions (H⁺, He⁺, O⁺, N⁺, NO⁺, O₂⁺, N₂⁺). The thermal ion outflows tend to be associated with the classical polar wind, while the energized ions are probably associated with either auroral energization processes or nonclassical polar wind processes. Part of the problem with identifying the exact cause of a given outflow relates to the fact that the ionosphere continuously convects into and out of the various high-latitude regions (sunlight, cusp, polar cap, nocturnal oval) and the time-constant for outflow is comparable to the convection time. Therefore, it is difficult to separate and quantify the possible outflow mechanisms. Some of these mechanisms are as follows. In sunlit regions, the photoelectrons can heat the thermal electrons and the elevated electron temperature acts to increase the polar wind outflow rate. At high altitudes, the escaping photoelectrons can also accelerate the polar wind as they drag the thermal ions with them. In the cusp and auroral oval, the precipitating magnetospheric electrons can heat the thermal electrons in a manner similar to the photoelectrons. Also, energized ions, in the form of beams and conics, can be created in association with field-aligned auroral currents and potential structures. The cusp ion beams and conics that have been convected into the polar cap can destabilize the polar wind when they pass through it at high altitudes, thereby transferring energy to the thermal ions. Additional energization mechanisms in the polar cap include Joule heating, hot magnetospheric electrons and ions, electromagnetic wave turbulence, and centrifugal acceleration.Some of these causes of ionospheric outflow will be briefly reviewed, with the emphasis on the recent simulations of polar wind dynamics in convecting flux tubes of plasma.     

Combined ESR and EISCAT observations of the dayside polar cap and auroral oval during the May 15, 1997 storm

The high-latitude ionospheric response to a major magnetic storm on May 15, 1997 is studied and different responses in the polar cap and the auroral oval are highlighted. Depletion of the F₂ region electron density occurred in both the polar cap and the auroral zone, but due to different physical processes. The increased recombination rate of O⁺ ions caused by a strong electric field played a crucial role in the auroral zone. The transport effect, however, especially the strong upward ion flow was also of great importance in the dayside polar cap. During the main phase and the beginning of the recovery phase soft particle precipitation in the polar cap showed a clear relation to the dynamic pressure of the solar wind, with a maximum cross-correlation coefficient of 0.63 at a time lag of 5 min.     

Dynamics of the ionospheric electric currents and auroral luminosity boundaries during strong magnetic storms

The regularities in the southward drift of the ionospheric current centers and luminosity boundaries during strong magnetic storms of November 2003 and 2004 (with Dst ≈ ?400 and ?470 nT, respectively) are studied based on the global geomagnetic observations and TV measurements of auroras. It has been indicated that the eastward and westward electrojets in the dayside and nightside sectors simultaneously shift equatorward to minimal latitudes of Φ _min ^° ～53°–55°. It has been obtained that the Φ _min ^° latitude decreases with increasing negative values of Dst, IMF B _z component, and westward electric field strength in the solar wind. The dependence of the electrojet equatorward shift velocity (V _av) on the rate of IMF B _z variations (ΔB _z /Δt) has been determined. It is assumed that the electrojet dynamics along the meridian is caused by a change in the structure of the magnetosphere and electric fields in the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere.     

极隙区粒子和电流的观测和研究

处于高纬向日面的极隙区是太阳风能量、动量和质量可以直接进入地球磁场并到达地球的近地空间的区域。本文简要介绍了极隙区的观测和研究，综述了极隙区的粒子沉降、场向电流、等离子体对流和电离层电流的特征。