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Simultaneous observations of traveling convection vortices: Ionosphere-thermosphere coupling

Kim, H; Lessard, MR; Jones, SL; Lynch, KA; Fernandes, PA; Aruliah, AL; Engebretson, MJ; ... Yeoman, TK; + view all (2017) Simultaneous observations of traveling convection vortices: Ionosphere-thermosphere coupling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics , 122 (5) pp. 4943-4959. 10.1002/2017JA023904. Green open access

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Abstract

We present simultaneous observations of magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling over Svalbard during a traveling convection vortex (TCV) event. Various spaceborne and ground-based instruments made coordinated measurements, including magnetometers, particle detectors, an all-sky camera, European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) Svalbard Radar, Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), and SCANning Doppler Imager (SCANDI). The instruments recorded TCVs associated with a sudden change in solar wind dynamic pressure. The data display typical features of TCVs including vortical ionospheric convection patterns seen by the ground magnetometers and SuperDARN radars and auroral precipitation near the cusp observed by the all-sky camera. Simultaneously, electron and ion temperature enhancements with corresponding density increase from soft precipitation are also observed by the EISCAT Svalbard Radar. The ground magnetometers also detected electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves at the approximate time of the TCV arrival. This implies that they were generated by a temperature anisotropy resulting from a compression on the dayside magnetosphere. SCANDI data show a divergence in thermospheric winds during the TCVs, presumably due to thermospheric heating associated with the current closure linked to a field-aligned current system generated by the TCVs. We conclude that solar wind pressure impulse-related transient phenomena can affect even the upper atmospheric dynamics via current systems established by a magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling process.

Type: Article
Title: Simultaneous observations of traveling convection vortices: Ionosphere-thermosphere coupling
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/2017JA023904
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017JA023904
Language: English
Additional information: © 2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Astronomy & Astrophysics, FIELD-ALIGNED CURRENTS, FLUX-TRANSFER EVENTS, GROUND MAGNETIC SIGNATURES, LATITUDE BOUNDARY-LAYER, SOLAR-WIND, VORTEX EVENT, IMPULSE EVENTS, TWIN VORTICES, NEUTRAL WINDS, MAGNETOSPHERE
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1568930
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