Interhemispheric asymmetry of the high-latitude ionospheric convection pattern

1994 ◽  
Vol 99 (A4) ◽  
pp. 6491 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Lu ◽  
A. D. Richmond ◽  
B. A. Emery ◽  
P. H. Reiff ◽  
O. de la Beaujardière ◽  
...  
Nature ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 316 (6024) ◽  
pp. 133-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Burrage ◽  
J. A. Waldock ◽  
T. B. Jones ◽  
E. Nielsen

2003 ◽  
Vol 108 (A5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nozomu Nishitani ◽  
Vladimir O. Papitashvili ◽  
Tadahiko Ogawa ◽  
Natsuo Sato ◽  
Hisao Yamagishi ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 3077-3087 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Förster ◽  
Y. I. Feldstein ◽  
S. E. Haaland ◽  
L. A. Dremukhina ◽  
L. I. Gromova ◽  
...  

Abstract. Cluster/EDI electron drift observations above the Northern and Southern polar cap areas for more than seven and a half years (2001–2008) have been used to derive a statistical model of the high-latitude electric potential distribution for summer conditions. Based on potential pattern for different orientations of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) in the GSM y-z-plane, basic convection pattern (BCP) were derived, that represent the main characteristics of the electric potential distribution in dependence on the IMF. The BCPs comprise the IMF-independent potential distribution as well as patterns, which describe the dependence on positive and negative IMFBz and IMFBy variations. The full set of BCPs allows to describe the spatial and temporal variation of the high-latitude electric potential (ionospheric convection) for any solar wind IMF condition near the Earth's magnetopause within reasonable ranges. The comparison of the Cluster/EDI model with the IZMEM ionospheric convection model, which was derived from ground-based magnetometer observations, shows a good agreement of the basic patterns and its variation with the IMF. According to the statistical models, there is a two-cell antisunward convection within the polar cap for northward IMFBz+≤2 nT, while for increasing northward IMFBz+ there appears a region of sunward convection within the high-latitude daytime sector, which assumes the form of two additional cells with sunward convection between them for IMFBz+≈4–5 nT. This results in a four-cell convection pattern of the high-latitude convection. In dependence of the ±IMFBy contribution during sufficiently strong northward IMFBz conditions, a transformation to three-cell convection patterns takes place.


1982 ◽  
Vol 87 (A8) ◽  
pp. 6339 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Heelis ◽  
J. K. Lowell ◽  
R. W. Spiro

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 3335-3347 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Cumnock ◽  
L. G. Blomberg ◽  
A. Kullen ◽  
T. Karlsson ◽  

Abstract. We examine 14 cases of an interesting type of extremely high latitude aurora as identified in the precipitating particles measured by the DMSP F13 satellite. In particular we investigate structures within large-scale arcs for which the particle signatures are made up of a group of multiple distinct thin arcs. These cases are chosen without regard to IMF orientation and are part of a group of 87 events where DMSP F13 SSJ/4 measures emissions which occur near the noon-midnight meridian and are spatially separated from both the dawnside and duskside auroral ovals by wide regions with precipitating particles typical of the polar cap. For 73 of these events the high-latitude aurora consists of a continuous region of precipitating particles. We focus on the remaining 14 of these events where the particle signatures show multiple distinct thin arcs. These events occur during northward or weakly southward IMF conditions and follow a change in IMF By. Correlations are seen between the field-aligned currents and plasma flows associated with the arcs, implying local closure of the FACs. Strong correlations are seen only in the sunlit hemisphere. The convection associated with the multiple thin arcs is localized and has little influence on the large-scale convection. This also implies that the sunward flow along the arcs is unrelated to the overall ionospheric convection.


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