field-aligned currents and proton precipitation
Abstract. A combination of EISCAT CP-3 (latitude scans) and satellite (DMSP) data have been used to study the structure of the quiet-time evening-sector auroral and subauroral ionosphere, in particular the mid-latitude trough. The main mechanism behind trough formation in the quiet-time evening sect...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.398.2740 http://www.ann-geophys.net/23/3277/2005/angeo-23-3277-2005.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract. A combination of EISCAT CP-3 (latitude scans) and satellite (DMSP) data have been used to study the structure of the quiet-time evening-sector auroral and subauroral ionosphere, in particular the mid-latitude trough. The main mechanism behind trough formation in the quiet-time evening sector ionosphere is believed to be flow stagnation in a region where convection and corotation counteract each other. However, there is also the possibility that field-aligned currents (FAC) more directly modify the ionospheric density if the current is carried by thermal ionospheric electrons. A quantitative test of the flow-stagnation scenario and an estimate of the possible direct effects caused by field-aligned currents have been performed. We found that the electron densities observed can indeed be explained by the flowstagnation scenario, but the electron density altitude profiles |
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