The role of external triggers in flow shear arcs in the dayside aurora

• Published in: Annales Geophysicae
• Main Authors: P. E. Sandholt, C. J. Farrugia
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2008
• Subjects: Science; Q; Physics; QC1-999; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Svalbard; Ny-Ålesund; Birkeland; Ny Ålesund
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-26-2159-2008; https://doaj.org/article/193db313a308491980c2a2b44c6440e8

In case studies we relate dayside auroral transients to IMF B y -distorted plasma convection cells based on high-resolution observations from the ground. We selected three days representing positive and negative IMF B y conditions when SuperDARN returned reliable dayside convection patterns in the sector of our optical observations from Ny Ålesund, Svalbard (76° MLAT). We combine two perspectives on the dayside aurora, the local and the global. In the first we derive the fine-structure of dayside precipitation/convection as a function of magnetic latitude (MLAT) and magnetic local time (MLT), which is necessary to understand the local M-I coupling processes (Birkeland current structure). The larger perspective (quasi-global dayside aurora) may be used to shed light on the solar wind-magnetosphere interconnection topology. The auroral morphology consists of brightening events and poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs) in the pre- and postnoon sectors longitudinally separated by a band of strongly attenuated aurora near noon. We find that the MLT-dependent spatial structure in the dayside aurora (PMAFs/prenoon – "midday gap aurora" – PMAFs/postnoon) which is present during stable IMF conditions is altered by temporal structure during intervals of IMF/solar wind plasma transients. The focus is on the PMAF substructure (so-called "rebrightening forms") which we identify as dynamical plasma flow shear arcs (FSAs) in B y -distorted dawn- and dusk-centered convection cells in the close vicinity of the cusp.