Dynamics of the postnoon auroral oval

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Physics
• Main Authors: McEwen, D. J., Creutzberg, F.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1986
• Subjects: Cape Parry; Parry; Sachs Harbour
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1139/p86-253; https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/p86-253

The morphology of the postnoon auroral oval (1300–1500 magnetic local time) as determined by ground-based optical observations with all-sky TV's and meridian scanners at Sachs Harbour, N.W.T., and Cape Parry, N.W.T., is described. Arcs associated with the "inverted-V" type of precipitation events, frequently observed with rocket and spacecraft particle detectors during this time period, are found to be short-lived, narrow, and sometimes of very restricted east–west extent. These arcs form the main feature of the auroral oval, which appears to be delineated almost ex0clusively by 6300-Å emission. The mechanism for their generation is consistent with local injections of magnetosheath plasma into the dayside boundary layer.