Conjugate Ground-Spacecraft Observations of VLF Chorus Elements

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Demekhov, A. G., Manninen, J., Santolík, O. (Ondřej), Titova, E. E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: VAN ALLEN PROBES; WHISTLER-MODE WAVES; MAGNETOSPHERIC CHORUS; PROPAGATION; EMISSIONS; BAND; FREQUENCY; AMPLITUDE; MASER; GUIDE; Northern Finland
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076139; http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0282366

We present results of simultaneous observations of VLF chorus elements at the ground-based station Kannuslehto in Northern Finland and on board Van Allen Probe A. Visual inspection and correlation analysis of the data reveal one-to-one correspondence of several (at least 12) chorus elements following each other in a sequence. Poynting flux calculated from electromagnetic fields measured by the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science instrument on board Van Allen Probe A shows that the waves propagate at small angles to the geomagnetic field and oppositely to its direction, that is, from northern to southern geographic hemisphere. The spacecraft was located at L similar or equal to 4.1 at a geomagnetic latitude of -12.4 degrees close to the plasmapause and inside a localized density inhomogeneity with about 30% density increase and a transverse size of about 600 km. The time delay between the waves detected on the ground and on the spacecraft is about 1.3 s, with ground-based detection leading spacecraft detection. The measured time delay is consistent with the wave travel time of quasi-parallel whistler-mode waves for a realistic profile of the plasma density distribution along the field line. The results suggest that chorus discrete elements can preserve their spectral shape during a hop from the generation region to the ground followed by reflection from the ionosphere and return to the near-equatorial region.