Quiet-Time Intensifications Along the Poleward Auroral Boundary Near Midnight

• Main Authors: DE LA Beaujardiere, O., Lyons, L. R., Ruohoniemi, J. M., Friis-Christensen, E., Danielsen, C.
• Other Authors: PHILLIPS LAB HANSCOM AFB MA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1994
• Subjects: Atmospheric Physics; *AURORAE; VELOCITY; IONOSPHERE; REPRINTS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; PLASMAS(PHYSICS); ELECTRON DENSITY; CANADA; BOUNDARY LAYER; OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS; GREENLAND; CONVECTION(ATMOSPHERIC); MAGNETOSPHERE; E REGION; POLAR CAP; ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATION; ELECTRIC FIELDS; RADAR; ION BEAMS; METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITES; BOUNDARIES; PRECIPITATION; RADAR EQUIPMENT; DMSP(DEFENSE METEOROLOGICAL SATELLITE PROGRAM); SONDRESSTROM FJORD; PLASMA SHEET; SBI1; FISCAL YEAR 94; PE61102F; WUPL2311G502; Canada; Greenland
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA277465; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA277465

Radar and optical measurements from Sondrestrom are combined with satellite and Goose Bay data in a study of the poleward edge of the nightside auroral oval during a quiet period. The B(y) and B(z) components of the interplanetary magnetic field were close to zero, and the B(x) component was approximately 8 nT for more than 24 hours. On a large scale, the convection and precipitation patterns remained almost constant during this period; on a small scale, however, the conditions were quite dynamic. At 10- to 20-min intervals the arc that marked the poleward auroral boundary intensified, and a new arc appeared poleward of it. About once per hour, stronger intensifications were observed. One such event is examined in detail. The auroral arcs first appeared to dim, and then they brightened, with a factor of 10 increase in E region electron density. At the time of the brightening a new arc formed poleward of all the arcs. The arcs then drifted southward at velocities of approximately 270 m/s. A plasma drift disturbance, characterized by a doubling of the southward velocity and a reversal in the east-west component, propagated westward at 900 m/s through the fields of view of the Sondrestrom and Goose Bay radars. A simultaneous satellite overpass close to the radars revealed the presence of an energetic ion event similar to the 'velocity dispersed ion structures' observed on the Aureol satellite and presumed to be the signature of fast ion beams within the plasma sheet boundary layer. The stronger arc intensification events observed by the Sondrestrom radar are associated with an increase in plasma flow across the boundary between open and closed magnetic field lines. Pub. in Jnl. of Geophysical Research, v99 nA1 p287- 298, 1 Jan 1994. Original contains color plates: All DTIC and NTIS reproductions will be in black and white.