First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs
We report the first observations of E region neutral wind fields and their interaction with auroral arcs at mesoscale spatial resolution during geomagnetically quiet conditions at Mawson, Antarctica. This was achieved by using a scanning Doppler imager, which can observe thermospheric neutral line-o...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics |
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2010
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Online Access: | https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/ https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/1/art_985.pdf |
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ftulancaster:oai:eprints.lancs.ac.uk:31724 2024-05-19T07:32:08+00:00 First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs Kosch, Mike J. Anderson, C. Makarevich, R. A. Carter, B. A. Fiori, R. A. D. Conde, M. Dyson, P. L. Davies, T. 2010-02-03 application/pdf https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/ https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/1/art_985.pdf en eng https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/1/art_985.pdf Kosch, Mike J. and Anderson, C. and Makarevich, R. A. and Carter, B. A. and Fiori, R. A. D. and Conde, M. and Dyson, P. L. and Davies, T. (2010) First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115 (A02303). pp. 1-13. ISSN 0148-0227 Journal Article PeerReviewed 2010 ftulancaster 2024-04-30T23:33:17Z We report the first observations of E region neutral wind fields and their interaction with auroral arcs at mesoscale spatial resolution during geomagnetically quiet conditions at Mawson, Antarctica. This was achieved by using a scanning Doppler imager, which can observe thermospheric neutral line-of-sight winds and temperatures simultaneously over a wide field of view. In two cases, the background E region wind field was perpendicular to an auroral arc, which when it appeared caused the wind direction within ∼50 km of the arc to rotate parallel along the arc, reverting to the background flow direction when the arc disappeared. This was observed under both westward and eastward plasma convection. The wind rotations occurred within 7–16 min. In one case, as an auroral arc propagated from the horizon toward the local zenith, the background E region wind field became significantly weaker but remained unaffected where the arc had not passed through. We demonstrate through modeling that these effects cannot be explained by height changes in the emission layer. The most likely explanation seems to be the greatly enhanced ion drag associated with the increased plasma density and localized ionospheric electric field associated with auroral arcs. In all cases, the F region neutral wind appeared less affected by the auroral arc, although its presence is clear in the data. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Lancaster University: Lancaster Eprints Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics 115 A2 n/a n/a |
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Lancaster University: Lancaster Eprints |
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ftulancaster |
language |
English |
description |
We report the first observations of E region neutral wind fields and their interaction with auroral arcs at mesoscale spatial resolution during geomagnetically quiet conditions at Mawson, Antarctica. This was achieved by using a scanning Doppler imager, which can observe thermospheric neutral line-of-sight winds and temperatures simultaneously over a wide field of view. In two cases, the background E region wind field was perpendicular to an auroral arc, which when it appeared caused the wind direction within ∼50 km of the arc to rotate parallel along the arc, reverting to the background flow direction when the arc disappeared. This was observed under both westward and eastward plasma convection. The wind rotations occurred within 7–16 min. In one case, as an auroral arc propagated from the horizon toward the local zenith, the background E region wind field became significantly weaker but remained unaffected where the arc had not passed through. We demonstrate through modeling that these effects cannot be explained by height changes in the emission layer. The most likely explanation seems to be the greatly enhanced ion drag associated with the increased plasma density and localized ionospheric electric field associated with auroral arcs. In all cases, the F region neutral wind appeared less affected by the auroral arc, although its presence is clear in the data. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kosch, Mike J. Anderson, C. Makarevich, R. A. Carter, B. A. Fiori, R. A. D. Conde, M. Dyson, P. L. Davies, T. |
spellingShingle |
Kosch, Mike J. Anderson, C. Makarevich, R. A. Carter, B. A. Fiori, R. A. D. Conde, M. Dyson, P. L. Davies, T. First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
author_facet |
Kosch, Mike J. Anderson, C. Makarevich, R. A. Carter, B. A. Fiori, R. A. D. Conde, M. Dyson, P. L. Davies, T. |
author_sort |
Kosch, Mike J. |
title |
First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
title_short |
First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
title_full |
First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
title_fullStr |
First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
title_full_unstemmed |
First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
title_sort |
first e region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/ https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/1/art_985.pdf |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_relation |
https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/31724/1/art_985.pdf Kosch, Mike J. and Anderson, C. and Makarevich, R. A. and Carter, B. A. and Fiori, R. A. D. and Conde, M. and Dyson, P. L. and Davies, T. (2010) First E region observations of mesoscale neutral wind interaction with auroral arcs. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115 (A02303). pp. 1-13. ISSN 0148-0227 |
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Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics |
container_volume |
115 |
container_issue |
A2 |
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n/a |
op_container_end_page |
n/a |
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1799470102639280128 |