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It was predicted (Carlson, 1987; 1993) that once HF radio waves achieved ionospheric energy densities comparable to that from the solar EUV, they could produce their own ionosphere. That work estimated a GW ERP of rf energy would produce an ionosphere half that from an overhead sun, assuming 15 efficiency conversion of rf energy to accelerated electron energy. [Until 2009 only one experimental estimate existed, 15 from Carlson, 1982.] The production mechanism proposed was impact ionization, by HF-accelerated electrons, to energies exceeding thermospheric ionization potentials. Solar EUV, aurora, and high-power HF radio-waves produce suprathermal electrons in the 15-100 eV energy range, yielding long-lived ionization in the ionosphere. Once suprathermal electrons are produced, the Aeronomy of production, transport, and recombination are in common. The key to understanding artificial ionization thus reduces to conversion efficiency of HF energy to ionization. By 2008 technology reached GW ERP. The prediction was tested, and confirmed [Pedersen et al, 2009, Blagoveschenskaya et al, 2009] at high latitudes.

The 2D morphology of coherent HF radar and optical cusp aurora has been studied for conditions of predominantly southward IMF conditions, which favours low-latitude boundary layer reconnection. Despite the variability in shape of radar cusp Doppler spectra, the spectral width criterion of > 220 m s–1 proves to be a robust cusp discriminator. For extended periods of well-developed radar backscatter echoes, the equatorward boundary of the > 220 m s–1 spectral width enhancement lines up remarkably well with the equatorward boundary of the optical cusp aurora. The spectral width boundary is however poorly determined during development and fading of radar cusp backscatter. Closer inspection of radar Doppler profile characteristics suggests that a combination of spectral width and shape may advance boundary layer identification by HF radar. For the two December days studied the onset of radar cusp backscatter occurred within pre-existing 630.0 nm cusp auroral activity and appear to be initiated by sunrise, i.e. favourable radio wave propagation conditions had to develop. Better methods are put forward for analysing optical data, and for physical interpretation of HF radar data, and for combining these data, as applied to detection, tracking, and better understanding of dayside aurora. The broader motivation of this work is to develop wider use by the scientific community, of results of these techniques, to accelerate understanding of dynamic high-latitude boundary-processes. The contributions in this work are: (1) improved techniques of analysis of observational data, yielding meaningfully enhanced accuracy for deduced cusp locations; (2) a correspondingly more pronounced validation of correlation of boundary locations derived from the observational data set; and (3) a firmer physical rationale as to why the good correlation observed should theoretically be expected.Key words: Ionosphere (ionospheric irregularities; polar ionosphere)

Two long runs of EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR), in February 2001 and October 2002, have been analysed with respect to variability in the F2 region peak density and altitude. The diurnal variation in the F2 peak density exhibits one maximum around 12:00 MLT and another around 23:00 MLT, consistent with solar wind controlled transport of EUV ionized plasma across the polar cap from day to night. High density plasma patch material is drawn in through the cusp inflow region independent of IMF BY. There is no apparent IMF BY asymmetry on the intake of high density plasma, but the trajectory of its motion is strongly BY dependent. Comparison with the international reference ionosphere model (IRI2001) clearly demonstrates that the model does not take account of the cross-polar transport of F2-region plasma, and hence has limited applicability in polar cap regions.

A sequence of 3 patches of high-density (1012 m−3) cold plasma on a horizontal scale-size of 300–700 km was observed near magnetic noon by the EISCAT VHF radar above Svalbard on 17 December 2001. The patches followed a trajectory towards the cusp inflow region. The combination of radar and all-sky observations demonstrates that the patches must have been segmented equatorward of the cusp/cleft auroral display, and hence their properties had not yet been influenced by cusp particle showers and electrodynamics on open flux tubes. The last patch in the sequence was intersected by radio tomography observations, and was found to be located adjacent to a broader region of the same high electron density further south. The patches occurred under moderately active conditions (Kp=3) and the total electron content (TEC) of the high-density plasma was 45 TEC units. The train of patches appeared as a segmentation of the tongue of ionization. The sequence of patches occurred in association with a sequence of flow bursts in the dusk cell return flow. It is proposed that reconnection driven pulsed convection is able to create sub-auroral patches in the region where high density mid-latitude plasma is diverted poleward toward the cusp. It is the downward Birkeland current sheet located at the equatorward boundary of the flow disturbance that represents the actual cutting mechanism.

We develop a theory of the magnetic-zenith effect (MZE) observed upon the ionosphere modification by powerful radio waves. The dependences of MZE on main parameters, such as the magnetic-field inclination angle, pump-wave frequency and power, and angular width of HF beam are obtained. The optimal elevation angle of pump-wave beam is predicted.

A kinetic theory is developed for strong Langmuir turbulence in the region of the reflection of a high-power ordinary radiowave in ionospheric plasma. The structure and quantity of the cavitons that form in the stage of well-developed turbulence are determined. The acceleration of electrons is investigated, and it is found that the electron distribution function acquires a significant tail with an effective temperature T{sub eff} of 50 to 100 times the plasma temperature. The region occupied by fast electrons is hundreds of times thicker than the layer of Langmuir turbulence. The theoretical results are shown to correlate well with the observational data on the electron acceleration and plasma emission in ionospheric experiments.

A continuous band of high ion temperature, which persisted for about 8h and zigzagged north-south across more than five degrees in latitude in the dayside (07:00-15:00MLT) auroral ionosphere, was observed by the EISCAT VHF radar on 23 November 1999. Latitudinal gradients in the temperature of the F-region electron and ion gases (Te and Ti, respectively) have been compared with concurrent observations of particle precipitation and field-perpendicular convection by DMSP satellites, in order to reveal a physical explanation for the persistent band of high Ti, and to test the potential role of Ti and Te gradients as possible markers for the open-closed field line boundary. The north/south movement of the equatorward Ti boundary was found to be consistent with the contraction/expansion of the polar cap due to an unbalanced dayside and nightside reconnection. Sporadic intensifications in Ti, recurring on ~10-min time scales, indicate that frictional heating was modulated by time-varying reconnection, and the band of high Ti was located on open flux. However, the equatorward Ti boundary was not found to be a close proxy of the open-closed boundary. The closest definable proxy of the open-closed boundary is the magnetosheath electron edge observed by DMSP. Although Te appears to be sensitive to magnetosheath electron fluxes, it is not found to be a suitable parameter for routine tracking of the open-closed boundary, as it involves case dependent analysis of the thermal balance. Finally, we have documented a region of newly-opened sunward convecting flux. This region is situated between the convection reversal boundary and the magnetosheath electron edge defining the open-closed boundary. This is consistent with a delay of several minutes between the arrival of the first (super-Alfvénic) magnetosheath electrons and the response in the ionospheric convection, conveyed to the ionosphere by the interior Alfvén wave. It represents a candidate footprint of the low-latitude boundary mixing layer on sunward convecting open flux.

Observations of the ionospheric electron density modified by a powerful wave of the Sura HF heating facility were carried out in Russia at middle latitudes in August 2002. Amplitude scintillations and variations of the phase of VHF signals from Russian orbiting satellites passing over the heated region along the chain of three satellite receivers have been recorded. The experimental data were converted to electron density maps using a stochastic inversion. Tomographic measurements conducted during a low magnetic activity revealed that HF powerful waves can produce significant electron density disturbances up to heights significantly exceeding altitudes of the F layer peak. Both large-scale plasma enhancements and small-scale density irregularities can be generated by the HF radiation. Wavy density structures were also observed within a sector which is much wider than the area covered by the main lobe of the heating antenna. Small-scale density irregularities are mostly field-aligned although large-scale structures can be detected within a much larger area. A distinctive peculiarity of electron density changes occurred during heating is producing a zone of low density inside the area illuminated by the antenna beam. The results indicate that satellite radio tomography and scintillation measurements are effective diagnostic techniques giving a valuable information to studies of effects induced by HF modification. The complete system of plasma density disturbances describing by the theory of “the magnetic zenith effect” has been for the first time studied in this Letter. A good agreement between the theory and experimental data has been obtained.

The theory of ionospheric modification for the beam of powerful radio emission directed along magnetic field lines is developed. Nonlinear process of beam self-focusing on striations is shown to determine strong amplification of heating and acceleration of plasma electrons. It results in a dramatic enhancement of optic emission from the magnetic zenith region in ionospheric F-layer. An excellent agreement between the theory and recent fundamental observations at HAARP facility (Alaska) [T. Pedersen et al., Geophys. Res. Lett. (2002), in press] is demonstrated.

The first EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) and ground optical campaign was carried out in January 1998 to cover a variety of dayside auroral activities in the 1000–1400 magnetic local time sector. The current paper focuses on 1 hour of combined radar, meridian scanning photometer, and ground magnetometer observations near the cusp convection throat on January 23, 1998. The radar was pointing north, at a fixed elevation of 45°, in the scan plane of the photometer. Several plasma dynamical features were revealed by this simplest possible convection mode of the ESR, such as spontaneous movement of the cusp inflow region and cusp-related ionization blobs pushing through the ambient incompressible plasma. Multiple morning discrete arcs were found to be aligned with convection streamlines equatorward of the flow reversal, while plasma in the polar cap inflow region streamed perpendicularly across the optical cusp boundary, as earlier anticipated.

The theory of self-focusing on striations for the powerful radio wave beam propagating in the northern or midlatitude ionosphere is developed. It is demonstrated that focusing lead to formation of a large scale nonlinear structure aligned magnetic field. It consists of a number of closely packed solitons — bunches of striations. The anomalous absorption of a pump wave trapped in solitons lead to the strong ohmic heating of electrons in the focused region. The theory is in a good agreement with the results of recent observations of optic emission and temperature enhancement in northern ionospheric modification experiments.

Kinetic theory of runaway breakdown in inhomogeneous thunderstorm electric field is developed. The kinetic equation, boundary and initial conditions are formulated. Spectrum of X-ray emission generated by runaway electrons is calculated. It has quite a specific form: a sharp maximum at energies 50–60 keV and a rapid fall both to the smaller and higher energies. The intensity of the emission is growing effectively with the relation Em/Ec (of maximal electric field Em to critical field Ec) and falling down sharply with the distance near the point z where electric field E(z) is equal to critical field Ec.

The full kinetic theory of runaway breakdown for electrons at high energy range is developed. The theory takes into account both ionization and bremsstrahlung processes. The electron–positron pairs generation is studied. The possibility to observe e + e − annihilation line during intensive discharges in atmosphere is predicted.

In the past there has been great interest in monitoring enhanced 557.7 nm O(¹S) emissions from the thermosphere in connection with high-power, high-frequency (HF) radio wave modification of the F region ionosphere. These emissions are considered to be evidence that the HF-modified electron distribution function is non-Maxwellian because a significant flux of ∼5–6 eV electrons is required to produce the airglow. The suprathermal tail is believed to develop as a result of nonlinear plasma processes. Past F region observations of 557.7 nm airglow at Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico have yielded only a few Rayleighs of enhanced emissions. Recently, airglow enhancements were monitored in sporadic E above Arecibo. Surprisingly, these experiments yielded ∼55 Rayleighs of enhanced 557.7 nm airglow and the first observations of emissions from the N2 first positive molecular bands. The observations imply that a large flux of energetic (5–10 eV) electrons is generated as part of the wave-plasma interaction in sporadic E.

The IMF BY control of the motion pattern and the location of cusp auroral activity has been continuously monitored in a case when the BY component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) went from −15 nT to +15 nT in the course of 20 minutes. This is the first time a direct observation of an IMF BY regulated shift in the longitudinal position of the auroral cusp has been documented. The IMF BY regulation of the cusp is regarded to be a unique signature of magnetopause reconnection. In this particular case the zonal shift of the cusp centre is estimated to be at least 3 hours in magnetic local time. The observations indicate that the cusp reconfigured within a few minutes after the BY polarity change imposed on the magnetopause.

The problem of the nonlinear structuring of the modified ionosphere due to the self-focusing of the pump wave on the bunches of striations is investigated. Two main conditions of self-focusing are formulated: (1) propagation of the pump wave quite along the magnetic field for effective excitation of striations, and (2) trapping of the pump wave by large-scale irregularities. It is shown that both conditions can be easily satisfied for small inclination angles α of the magnetic field to the vertical. A detailed study of the low latitude case was performed using model calculations of the pump wave propagation. It is shown that at low latitudes self-focusing conditions also can be satisfied but mostly for the special form of the large-scale irregularities and mostly in the southern part of the pump wave beam. These results may reconcile apparent differences between radiowave and rocket probing of the irregularities.

This paper presents the first observations of simultaneous polar cap patches and polar cap arcs in a single common 1000-km field of view, and identifies a model that explains the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) dependencies of the observed phenomenology. To study the characteristics of the polar cap optical emissions in the 630.0 nm line during transitions of the IMF Bz, we have scanned images taken at Qaanaaq, Greeland, between 1989 and 1994. We found that on a few occasions, when Bz changed from a south to a north orientation, a particular pattern of polar cap patches and Sun-aligned arcs coexisted. No similar pattern of coexisting arcs and patches was found during north-to-south IMF transitions. The detailed analyses of three of these events are presented here in which patches and polar cap arcs are clearly identified to reside simultaneously within the Qaanaaq imager field of view. The digisonde located also at Qaanaaq is used to confirm that the optical patches correspond to enhancements in the number density and a simultaneous decrease of the hmF2 value. These two factors increase the capability of the imager to differentiate between patches and the background airglow. Data collected by the DMSP F8 satellite during one of the events reaffirm the appearance of polar cap precipitation during the Bz positive period. The J4 sensor on board DMSP F8 detected typical electron fluxes commonly associated with polar cap arcs. The coexistence of patches and arcs is due to a slower response of the patches in exiting the polar cap, and then the relatively sudden appearance of polar cap arcs presumably driven by dayside reconnection between the IMF and open flux drawn initially equatorward toward the cusp. This model, of dayside reconnection switching from equatorward of the cusp for Bz south to poleward of the cusp for Bz north, likewise explains why arcs and patches are seen by the imager to coexist for rapid Bz reversals only from south to north and not from north to south.

The results of electron temperature measurements by incoherent scattering have been considered under the conditions of existence of strong small scale temperature irregularities in the F-region of the ionosphere. A method to determine such local temperature enhancement from the analysis of the mean square error in the ACF fitting and the total scattered power of the ISR signal is pointed out.

Based on the theory of stationary striations created in ionospheric modifications by powerful radio waves, as developed by Gurevich et al. [Phys. Lett. A 206 (1995) 247], the existence of self-oscillations of striations and of a large scale nonlinear structuring in a modified region is predicted. The theory is shown to be in agreement with existing observational data. Direct in situ rocket measurements of the electron temperature inside the striations, analogous to the recent plasma density measurements [M.C. Kelley et al., J. Geophys. Res. 100 (1995) 17 367], are desirable.

A challenging problem of cusp/cleft auroral research is to identify the boundary between open and closed magnetic field lines. In order to unambiguously distinguish between viscous and reconnection modes of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling, it is mandatory to know whether or not the auroral features observed in the ionosphere are associated with open or closed magnetic flux. In this paper we approach this issue by using particle data from NOAA-12 crossings through a certain category of transient dayside auroral features. This category of events has usually been attributed to time-varying magnetopause reconnection. The transient auroral forms were coincident with an intense flux of magnetosheath-like plasma. As expected these events were located poleward of the trapping boundary. A secondary population of energetic ions, however, refines the particle test of open or closed magnetic field topology.

The parametric decay of an upper hybrid (UH) wave into a lower hybrid (LH) wave and a downshifted UH wave inside inhomogeneous ionospheric striations, when both pump and decay UH modes are trapped, is investigated. The threshold and the growth rate of the instability are determined. The possibility of the existence of both main features in the usually observed spectrum of stimulated electromagnetic emission (SEE), downshifted maximum and long continuum tail, is demonstrated. The conditions of the excitation of the second and third decay modes are established.

[1] We present several examples of reversed flow events (RFEs) from the cusp ionosphere. RFEs are 100–200 km wide flow channels opposing the background plasma convection. RFEs were discovered a few years ago by the incoherent scatter European Incoherent Scatter Svalbard Radar. In this paper we show that coherent scatter Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) HF radars can also see RFEs. We report a close relationship between RFEs and the development of HF backscatter power and spectral width. Wide spectra were seen near the edges of the RFEs (i.e., associated with the flow shear), and there was a significant increase in SuperDARN HF backscatter power when the RFE expanded. This increase in power is much faster than anticipated from the gradient drift instability alone, supporting the hypothesis that RFE flow shears foster rapid growth of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. That decameter-scale irregularities form so rapidly should be an important guide to the development of instability theory for cascade of plasma irregularities from larger to smaller scale sizes.

As the electric field and power density of radio wave (RF) radiation increases continuously in a plasma, the response of the plasma to the incident energy changes discontinuously. This follows from a complex set of competing processes, each generally with its own power dependent threshold, and plasma instabilities, each with their own growth and decay rate. Non-linear power dependencies, and dependencies on boundary conditions, past histories of the plasma conditions, dependence on proximity to plasma resonances, and non-linear mixing in the plasma leading to up or down convertion with respect to resonances, all conspire to make experimental guidance invaluable to theoretical development, and visa versa. Experimental manifestations of RF energy conversion are reviewed here, for the HF power increasing through: passive transmission, to cross-modulation, to thermal bulk heating, to parametric and other instabilities with plasma structuring and stimulated electromagnetic radiation, to electron acceleration and airglow, to reported ionization. Emphasized here is the enormous spectral range of electromagnetic effects, the case for production of ionization, and the need to focus future research on energy budget issues.

Some implications are considered of recent theoretical work concerning the excitation of dayside ionospheric convection by magnetic reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. In particular, transient bursts of such reconnection (‘flux transfer events’) are considered as a cause of polar cap ‘patches’ of enhanced plasma density. Examples of such patches, as observed at European longitudes by the EISCAT radar, are presented and used to discuss the implications of the proposed mechanism.

The height distribution of the dayside cusp aurora and the relation between optical emissions and net downward electron energy flux are discussed. These two important characteristics of day-side cusp aurora are still unknown. It is instructive to compare particle flux and optical luminosity because these two quantities should be proportional if the cusp aurora is caused by electron impact, as has been found for nighttime aurora in the oval. Furthermore, there should then be a direct relation between auroral altitudes and particle energy. Based on coordinated auroral observations at Svalbard and Greenland, together with simultaneous, overhead F-9 satellite measurements, these quantities have been evaluated. >

The electrodynamic, thermal, and energetic character of stable Sun-aligned arcs in the polar cap can be meaningfully diagnosed by an incoherent scatter radar, provided a suitable observing scheme is selected. We report here such measurements of two intense Sun-aligned arcs. The two arcs were diagnosed on two different nights (February 26 and March 1, 1987) using the Sondre Stromfjord radar as a stand-alone diagnostic. Repeatable patterns are found in mesoscale area (order 10³ km by 10³ km) maps of altitude profiles for observed electron and ion gas number densities, temperatures, and line-of-sight velocities, and projected mesoscale area maps of derived electric fields, Pedersen and Hall conductivities (Ne, Te, Ti, V, E, ΣP, ΣH), horizontal and field-aligned currents, joule heating rate, and Poynting flux. We confirm, for the first time with continuous mesoscale area maps, that the arcs have the anticipated simple arc electrodynamics. That is, the visual and enhanced ionization signatures of the arc are produced by incoming energetic electrons carrying the outgoing current from the electric field convergence in the arc. Strong electron temperature enhancements (>2000 K) are found as expected within the sheets of ionizing particle precipitation. Dawn to dusk decreases in the antisunward plasma flow of order 1 km s−1, across order 100 km, correspond to peak electron densities of order 105 cm−3 down to altitudes as low as 120 km, and upward currents of order 1 µA m−2. These data also lead to important implications for the physics of polar cap arcs. The high-velocity (antisunward flow on the dawnside) edge of the arc marks the location of strong persistent Joule heating driven by downward Poynting flux. There is a channel of strongly enhanced ion temperature (well above the electron temperature) along the high-velocity edge of the arc, quantitatively accounted for by ion frictional heating as the strong electric field drags the ions through the neutral gas. The deposition rate into the atmosphere of the net electromagnetic energy well exceeds the net particle energy deposited by the ionizing energetic electron flux. This heating is a substantial source of heat into the polar thermosphere. As estimated by heat into the ions, heat lost by the ions to the neutrals, or energy available from the Poynting and energetic particle flux, several ergs cm−2 s−1 are deposited in channels of order 100 km for good fractions of an hour in these arcs; this contributes to resolving the problem of the missing polar thermosphere heat source. Finally, a reasonably simple yet self-consistent, accurate, and comprehensive representation of stable intense Sun-aligned arcs is presented, including the electrodynamic, thermal, and energetic character.

[1] In this paper we study reversed flow events (RFEs) that seem regulated by Birkeland current arcs in the winter cusp ionosphere above Svalbard. An RFE is a longitudinally elongated, 100–200 km wide channel, in which the flow direction is opposite to the background convection, persisting for 10–20 min. The RFE onset occurs with the brightening of a discrete arc near the open-closed boundary. The auroral arc is situated exactly at a sharp clockwise flow reversal, consistent with a converging electric field and an upward field-aligned current. One category of RFEs propagates into the polar cap in tandem with poleward moving auroral forms, while another category of RFEs moves with the cusp/cleft boundary. The RFE phenomenon is addressed to a region void of electron precipitation, and in lack of direct sunlight the E-region conductivity will be very low. We propose two possible explanations: (1) the RFE channel may be a region where two MI current loops, forced by independent voltage generators, couple through a poorly conducting ionosphere and (2) the reversed flow channel may be the ionospheric footprint of an inverted V-type coupling region. Electron beams of

[1] While polar cap ionospheric patches have been studied for over two decades, there remains no general agreement to which of many proposed patch-production mechanisms are important or dominate. An experiment was designed and implemented to search for transient events redirecting subauroral ionospheric plasma from its subauroral flow to transient injection into the polar cap, as would occur for the (Lockwood and Carlson, 1992) mechanism of patch creation. An earlier experiment provided compelling evidence of this mechanism acting within the cusp, with strong but indirect evidence regarding the source-reservoir for the plasma injected into the polar cap. The work here, for the first time, directly tracks plasma becoming a “patch”, continuously from subauroral latitudes before the event fires, through the cusp and into the polar cap. We conclude this mechanism is a dominant patch generation mechanism and highlight that poleward-moving-form research has direct application to polar cap patch generation by magnetopause reconnection.

[1] Identifying the source of electrons producing polar cap arcs (P-C arcs), ubiquitous under northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions, should be a notable step toward solving the long-standing problem of determining the topology of the magnetosphere for northward IMF. We calculate several electrodynamics limits that follow from a kinetic theory perspective of electrons precipitating into the polar cap from the electron reservoir in the distant magnetospheric tail, for currents sustainable without electron acceleration. We then calculate mutual relationships between several electrodynamics parameters for currents beyond these limits, if electron acceleration processes were to draw the additional current-carrying electrons from this same reservoir. We compare these theoretical limits and mutual relationships with those actually observed in the polar cap. We conclude that for typical P-C arc conditions, there is no need to look further than the magnetospheric tail for the source reservoir of electrons needed to provide observed fluxes in either polar rain or P-C arcs. We close by putting this into the context of relevant models.

We report the discovery of radio-wave-induced red emission of OH Meinel rotation-vibrational bands at 629.79 nm. These are the first measurements of artificial aurora below 100 km. We believe that the 629.79-nm OH emission was due to radio-wave focusing by sporadic ionization clouds near 80-85 km altitude, thus giving a technique to visualize the low-altitude sporadic ionization and providing insight into ionospheric interactions at these low altitudes.

[1] In this paper we present a one-to-one relationship between poleward moving auroral forms (PMAFs) and ion upflows in the cusp. Ion upflows have the same quasi-periodic nature as cusp auroral transients, which are believed to be a signature of flux-transfer events. This new observation corroborates the idea that low energy particle precipitation is the dominant source of energy for ion upflows. Some events were lacking elevated Ti which indicates that frictional heating is not required. The ion upflow events broadened with altitude in characteristic V-shape. We suggest that each PMAF was associated with an inverted V- potential structure moving over the radar.

The NOAA-12 satellite skimmed through a region of dayside auroral activity over Svalbard on January 12, 1992. A sequence of auroral forms from two separated onset sites in the postnoon sector drifted westward towards magnetic noon. The auroral forms were associated with a population of injected magnetosheath plasma mixed with a secondary component of magnetospheric ions (>30 keV) that is a key signature of the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL). The direction of motion of the cleft auroral forms and the basic features of the NOAA particle spectrograms indicate that the transients are related to LLBL on open field lines. The auroral transients are consistent with footprints of reconnection at the dayside magnetopause which is both patchy in space and sporadic in time.

We present the first ever measurement of the full thermal plasma properties, of an ionospheric patch in full darkness in the noon region where patches are believed to form. Further these data present the first experimental evidence for the Lockwood and Carlson class of mechanisms for forming patches by plasma injection. These data were possible only because of a new measurement capability we had to develop. We introduce the capability here because it crosses the high-speed threshold that now allows study of a broader class of mesoscale plasma flow-transients, which are thought to occur over time scales near 2 minutes vice 8-10 minutes. Cumulatively such transients may significantly drive global convection. We demonstrate both the validity of and need for our new measurement capability, by presenting a transient flow reversal sweeping across a 500 by 1000 km area, with initial reversal in 4 minutes, and recovery within 6 minutes.

The extended flight of the Airborne Ionospheric Observatory during the Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Pilot program on January 16, 1990, allowed continuous all-sky monitoring of the two-dimensional ionospheric footprint of the northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) cusp in several wavelengths. Especially important in determining the locus of magnetosheath electron precipitation was the 630.0-nm red line emission. The most striking morphological change in the images was the transient appearance of zonally elongated regions of enhanced 630.0-nm emission which resembled “rays” emanating from the centroid of the precipitation. The appearance of these rays was strongly correlated with the Y component of the IMF: when the magnitude of By was large compared to Bz, the rays appeared; otherwise, the distribution was relatively unstructured. Late in the flight the field of view of the imager included the field of view of flow measurements from the European incoherent scatter radar (EISCAT). The rays visible in 630.0-nm emission exactly aligned with the position of strong flow jets observed by EISCAT. We attribute this correspondence to the requirement of quasi-neutrality; namely, the soft electrons have their largest precipitating fluxes where the bulk of the ions precipitate. The ions, in regions of strong convective flow, are spread out farther along the flow path than in regions of weaker flow. The occurrence and direction of these flow bursts are controlled by the IMF in a manner consistent with newly opened flux tubes; i.e., when |By| > |Bz|, tension in the reconnected field lines produce east-west flow regions downstream of the ionospheric projection of the x line. We interpret the optical rays (flow bursts), which typically last between 5 and 15 min, as evidence of periods of enhanced dayside (or lobe) reconnection when |By| > |Bz|. The length of the reconnection pulse is difficult to determine, however, since strong zonal flows would be expected to persist until the tension force in the field line has decayed, even if the duration of the enhanced reconnection was relatively short.

This is the first analysis, using a statistically significant data set, of the morphological dependence of the presence, orientation, and motion of stable sun-aligned polar cap arcs upon the vector interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). For the one winter season analyzed we had 1392 all-sky 630.0-nm images of 2-min resolution containing a total of 150 polar cap arcs, all with corresponding values of the IMF as measured by International Monitoring Platform (IMP) 8 or International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE) 2. After demonstrating an unbiased data set with smooth normal distributions of events versus the dimensions of time, space, and IMF component, we examine IMF dependencies of the properties of the optical arcs. A well-defined dependence for B(sub z) is found for the presence/absence of stable Sun-aligned polar cap arcs. Consistent with previous statistical studies, the probability of observing polar cap aurora steadily increases for larger positive values of B(sub z), and linearly decreases when B(sub z) becomes more negative. The probability of observing Sun-aligned arcs within the polar cap is determined to vary sharply as a function of the arc location; arcs were observed 40% of the time on the dawnside and only 10% on the duskside. This implies an overall probability of at least 40% for the whole polar cap. 20% of the arcs were observed during 'southward IMF conditions,' but in fact under closer inspection were found to have been formed under northward IMF conditions; these 'residual' positive B(sub z) arcs ha d a delayed residence time in the polar cap of about what would be expected after a north to south transition of B(sub z). A firm dependence on B(sub y) is also found for both the orientation and the dawn-dusk direction of motion of the arcs. All the arcs are Sun-aligned to a first approximation, but present deviations from this orientation, depending primarily upon the location of the arc in corrected geomagnetic (CG) coordinates. The arcs populating the 06-12 and the 12-18 quadrants of the CG coordinate system point toward the cusp. The B(sub y) dependency of the arc alignment is consistent with a cusp displacement in local time according to the sign of B(sub y). We found that the arc direction of motion depended both on B(sub y) and the arc location within the polar cap. For a given value of B(sub y) two well-defined regions (or cells) exist. Within each cell the arcs move in the same direction toward the boundary between the cells. The arcs located in the duskside move dawnward; those in the dawnside move duskward. The relative size of these dusk and dawn regions (or cells) are controlled by the magnitude of B(sub y). This persistent dusk-dawn motion fo the polar cap arcs is interpreted in terms of newly open flux tubes entering the polar cap and exerting a displacement of the convective cells and the polar cap arcs that are embedded within them.

The altitude from which transient 630-nm (“red line”) light is emitted in transient dayside auroral breakup events is discussed. Theoretically, the emissions should normally originate from approximately 250 to 550 km. Because the luminosity in dayside breakup events moves in a way that is consistent with newly opened field lines, they have been interpreted as the ionospheric signatures of transient reconnection at the dayside magnetopause. For this model the importance of these events for convection can be assessed from the rate of change of their area. The area derived from analysis of images from an all-sky camera and meridian scans from a photometer, however, depends on the square of the assumed emission altitude. From field line mapping, it is shown for both a westward and an eastward moving event, that the main 557.7-nm emission comes from the edge of the 630 nm transient, where a flux transfer event model would place the upward field-aligned current (on the poleward and equatorward edge, respectively). The observing geometry for the two cases presented is such that this is true, irrespective of the 630-nm emission altitude. From comparisons with the European incoherent scatter radar data for the westward (interplanetary magnetic field By > 0) event on January 12, 1988, the 630-nm emission appears to emanate from an altitude of 250 km, and to be accompanied by some 557.7-nm “green-line” emission. However, for a large, eastward moving event observed on January 9, 1989, there is evidence that the emission altitude is considerably greater and, in this case, the only 557.7-nm emission is that on the equatorward edge of the event, consistent with a higher altitude 630-nm excitation source. Assuming an emission altitude of 250 km for this event yields a reconnection voltage of >50 kV during the reconnection burst but a contribution to the convection voltage of >15 kV. However, from the motion of the event we infer that the luminosity peaks at an altitude in the range of 400 and 500 km, and for the top of this range the reconnection and average convection voltages would be increased to >200 kV and >60 kV, respectively. (These are all minimum estimates because the event extends in longitude beyond the field-of-view of the camera). Hence the higher-emission altitude has a highly significant implication, namely that the reconnection bursts which cause the dayside breakup events could explain most of the voltage placed across the magnetosphere and polar cap by the solar wind flow. Analysis of the plasma density and temperatures during the event on January 9, 1989, predicts the required thermal excitation of significant 630-nm intensities at altitudes of 400-500 km.

A set of observations describing ionospheric conditions, magnetospheric populations, and 6300-A emission intensities on stable auroral red (SAR) arc field lines during the solar minimum 19-24 Sept. 1984 magnetic storm period prompted a study of solar cycle and magnetic storm phase variations in SAR arc emissions and their magnetospheric energy source. It was found that medium-energy H(+) was significantly enhanced during the main phase compared to the late recovery phase of the 19-20 Sept. 1984 storm. Enhanced heating of the thermal electron plasma caused by this population resulted in more than an order of magnitude greater SAR arc emissions in the main phase compared to the recovery phase. O(+) was found to be the dominant energy source for SAR arcs in the late recovery phases of storms in the 19-24 Sept. period.

SAR arc statistic provide information on the seasonal and solar cycle variations in the subauroral region electron temperature peak and associated magnetospheric energy source. There are two sources of long-term (solar cycle and seasonal) variability in the magnitude of the subauroral region electron temperature peak and associated SAR are emission intensity: (1) the neutral atmosphere and ionosphere and (2) the magnetospheric energy source. The results of this study indicate that the observed seasonal variation in SAR are intensities can be explained reasonably well by seasonal variations in the neutral atmosphere and ionosphere. True solstice effect are unlikely to result from difference in a near-equatorial magnetospheric heat source since the same heat source supplies both the summer and the winter hemispheres at opposite ends of a common flux tube. Observed solar cycle variations in SAR are intensity for a fixed ring current strength (as represented by the D sub st index) are not consistent with variations predicted solely on the basis of a solar cycle changes in the neutral atmosphere and ionosphere. A reduction of the magnetospheric heat flux by a factor of between 5 and 20 from solar maximum to solar minimum conditions is necessary to bring model electron temperaturesmore » and 6300 emission intensity into agreement with observational results for moderately disturbed conditions D sub st approx - 80 gamma. The required reduction in the magnetospheric energy source with decreasing solar cycle is attributed to compositional changes in the magnetospheric plasma.« less