E.: Multi-instrument study of the dynamic cusp during dominant IMF By conditions, Ann

• Main Authors: H. Khan, M. Lester, J. A. Davies, S. E. Milan
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Svalbard; EISCAT
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.371.7265; http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/31/70/12/PDF/angeo-21-693-2003.pdf

Abstract. We present multi-instrument observations using the meridian scanning photometer (MSP) at Ny ˚Alesund, the EISCAT Svalbard radar (ESR) and the CUTLASS Finland HF radar, to investigate the dynamics of the cusp region during pulsed reconnection events. The optical data obtained from the MSP indicate the presence of several polewardmoving auroral forms (PMAFs) which have been previously identified as the auroral signature of pulsed reconnection. Furthermore, the optical green line (557.7 nm) luminosity indicates a loss of emission equatorward of the location of the onset of the PMAFs, characteristic of magnetospheric plasma escaping to the magnetosheath along newly opened field lines. This reduction in green line luminosity creates a “dark region”, the equatorward edge of which is found to lie close to the boundary between high and low spectral