bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Propagation of short-period gravity waves at high-latitudes during the MaCWAVE winter campaign
Authors: Nielsen K. , Taylor M. J. , Pautet P.-D. , Fritts D. C. , Mitchell N. , Beldon C. , Williams B. P. , Singer W. , Schmidlin F. J. , Goldberg R. A.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. As part of the MaCWAVE (Mountain and Convective Waves Ascending Vertically) winter campaign an all-sky monochromatic CCD imager has been used to investigate the properties of short-period mesospheric gravity waves at high northern latitudes. Sequential measurements of several nightglow emissions were made from Esrange, Sweden, during a limited period from 27–31 January 2003. Coincident wind measurements over the altitude range (~80–100 km) using two meteor radar systems located at Esrange and Andenes have been used to perform a novel investigation of the intrinsic properties of five distinct wave events observed during this period. Additional lidar and MSIS model temperature data have been used to investigate their nature (i.e. freely propagating or ducted). Four of these extensive wave events were found to be freely propagating with potential source regions to the north of Scandinavia. No evidence was found for strong orographic forcing by short-period waves in the airglow emission layers. The fifth event was most unusual exhibiting an extensive, but much smaller and variable wavelength pattern that appeared to be embedded in the background wind field. Coincident wind measurements indicated the presence of a strong shear suggesting this event was probably due to a large-scale Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
F-region electron density and Te / Ti measurements using incoherent scatter power data collected at ALTAIR
Authors: Milla M. , Kudeki E.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The ALTAIR UHF radar was used in an incoherent scatter experiment to observe the low-latitude ionosphere during the Equis 2 rocket campaign. The measurements provided the first high-resolution electron density maps of the low-latitude D- and E-region in the Pacific sector and also extended into the F-region and topside ionosphere. Although the sampling frequency was well below the Nyquist frequency of F-region returns, we were able to estimate Te / Ti ratio and infer unbiased electron density estimates using a regularized inversion technique described here. The technique exploits magnetic aspect angle dependence of ISR cross-section for Te>Ti.
Relationships between electron density, height and sub-peak ionospheric thickness in the night equatorial ionosphere
Authors: Lynn K. J. W. , Harris T. J. , Sjarifudin M.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The development and decay of the southern equatorial anomaly night-time peak in electron density as seen at a number of ionosonde reflection points extending from New Guinea and Indonesia into northern Australia was examined in terms of the characteristic rise and fall in height associated with the sunset ionisation-drift vortex at the magnetic equator. The observations relate to measurements made in November 1997. Following sunset, the ionospheric profile was observed to narrow as the maximum electron density increased during a fall in height that took the peak of the layer at Vanimo and Sumedang down to some 240 km. The fall was followed by a strong rise in which the electron density sub-peak profile expanded from a slab width (as given by POLAN) of 20 km to over 100km with no corresponding change in peak electron density. The post-sunset equatorial fall in height and associated changes in profile density and thickness continued to be seen with diminishing amplitude and increasing local time delay in moving from the anomaly peak at Vanimo to the southernmost site of observation at Townsville. Secondary events on a lesser scale sometimes occurred later in the night and may provide evidence of the multiple vortices suggested by Kudeki and Bhattacharyya (1999). Doppler measurements of vertical velocity as seen at Sumedang in Java are compared with the observed changes in electron density profile in the post-sunset period. The normal post-sunset variation in ionospheric parameters was disrupted on the night of 7 November, the night before a negative ionospheric storm was observed.
Equatorial ionospheric disturbance observed through a transequatorial HF propagation experiment
Authors: Maruyama T. , Kawamura M.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. A transequatorial radio-wave propagation experiment at shortwave frequencies (HF-TEP) was done between Shepparton, Australia, and Oarai, Japan, using the radio broadcasting signals of Radio Australia. The receiving facility at Oarai was capable of direction finding based on the MUSIC (Multiple Signal Classification) algorithm. The results were plotted in azimuth-time diagrams (AT plots). During the daytime, the propagation path was close to the great circle connecting Shepparton and Oarai, thus forming a single line in the AT plots. After sunset, off-great-circle paths, or satellite traces in the AT plot, often appeared abruptly to the west and gradually returned to the great circle direction. However, there were very few signals across the great circle to the east. The off-great-circle propagation was very similar to that previously reported and was attributed to reflection by an ionospheric structure near the equator. From the rate of change in the direction, we estimated the drift velocity of the structure to range mostly from 100 to 300 m/s eastward. Multiple instances of off-great-circle propagation with a quasi-periodicity were often observed and their spatial distance in the east-west direction was within the range of large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (LS-TIDs). Off-great-circle propagation events were frequently observed in the equinox seasons. Because there were many morphological similarities, the events were attributed to the onset of equatorial plasma bubbles.
Equatorial plasma bubbles in the ionosphere over Eritrea: occurrence and drift speed
Authors: Wiens R. H. , Ledvina B. M. , Kintner P. M. , Afewerki M. , Mulugheta Z.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. An all-sky imager was installed in Asmara, Eritrea (15.4° N, 38.9° E, 7° N dip) and used to monitor the OI 630-nm nightglow. Nine months of data were studied between September 2001 and May 2002, a time including the recent maximum in the solar activity cycle. Equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) were recorded on 63% of nights with adequate viewing conditions. The station location within view of the equatorial ionization anomaly and with a magnetic declination near zero makes it an excellent test case for comparison with satellite studies of the seasonal variation of EPBs with longitude. The imager was accompanied by two Cornell GPS scintillation monitors, and the amplitude scintillation data are compared to the all-sky data. GPS scintillations indicate the beginning of EPBs, but die out sooner in the post-midnight period than the larger scale EPBs. Both phenomena exhibit clear occurrence maxima around the equinoxes. Ionospheric zonal drift speeds have been deduced from EPB and GPS scintillation pattern movement. Average near-midnight EPB drift speeds are between 100 and 120 m/s most months, with the GPS scintillation speeds being about the same. A winter drift speed maximum is evident in both EPB and GPS scintillation monthly means.
The influence of digitisation and timing errors on the estimation of tidal components at Split (Adriatic Sea)
Authors: Vilibic I.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The paper comprises the calculations of amplitudes and phases of tidal harmonic constituents, performed on hourly sea level data recorded at the Split tide gauge in the period 1957-2001. Interannual changes in all constituents have been detected, stronger in phases than in amplitudes. For example, the estimated change in M2 amplitude and phase is 22% (1.31 cm) and 24.9° between the 1962–1978 and 1957–1961 periods, respectively. Some of the differences are generated artificially throughout the measurements (clock errors, positioning and stretching of a chart) and within the digitising procedure, rather than by natural processes and changes (e.g. changes in mean sea level). This is the reason why the M2 and K1 amplitudes were recomputed with 3–4 mm larger values using newer software, thereby decreasing their standard deviation by 60–70% in the 1986–1995 period. Artificial errors may be reduced by the upgrading of digitising software; however, most of the errors still remain in the series. These errors may have repercussions when trying to explain some unusual findings: the energy of de-tided sea level series at the M2 tidal period (12.4 h) has been assumed previously to be a result of nonlinear coupling, but it may be caused, at least partly, by timing errors in the time series.
Simultaneous observation of sporadic E with a rapid-run ionosonde and VHF coherent backscatter radar
Authors: Maruyama T. , Saito S. , Yamamoto M. , Fukao S.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. During the SEEK 2 rocket campaign, ionograms were recorded every minute at the Yamagawa Radio Observatory at about 90km west of the region monitored by a VHF (very high frequency) coherent backscatter radar. Sporadic E-layer parameters, which include the critical (foEs) and blanketing (fbEs) frequencies, the layer height (h'Es), and the width of the range spread of sporadic E-traces, were compared with RTI (range-time-intensity) plots of VHF quasi-periodic (QP) and continuous coherent backscatter echoes. A close relationship was found between the appearance of QP echoes in the RTI plots and the level of spatial inhomogeneity in sporadic E plasma, signified here by the difference between foEs and fbEs. During QP echo events, foEs increased while fbEs decreased, so that the difference foEs-fbEs was enhanced, indicating the development of strong spatial structuring in electron density within a sporadic E-layer. On the other hand, increases in sporadic E range spreading also correlated with the occurrence of QP echoes but the degree of correlation varied from event to event. Continuous radar echoes were observed in association with low altitude sporadic E-layers, located well below 100 km and at times as low as 90 km. During the continuous echo events, both foEs and fbEs were less variable, and the difference foEs-fbEs was small and not as dynamic as in the QP echoes. On the other hand, the Es-layer spread intensified during continuous echoes, which means that some patchiness or corrugation in those low altitude layers is also necessary for the continuous backscatter echoes to take place.
Observations of GPS ionospheric scintillations over Wuhan during geomagnetic storms
Authors: Li G. , Ning B. , Wan W. , Zhao B.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. During the two geomagnetic storms which occurred on 1 October 2002 and 22 January 2004, the strong ionospheric scintillations of the GPS L1 band were observed at Wuhan station (30.6° N, 114.4° E, 45.8° Dip), which is situated near the northern crest of the equatorial ionosphere anomaly. We found that the intense scintillations were associated with the main phases of the storms and were co-located with the enhancement of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA); the co-existence of large- and small-scale irregularities at post-midnight was also found. The results may be relevant regarding the influence of the equatorial ionospheric eastward electric field during geomagnetic storms. On the other hand, GPS L1 band scintillations were not observed during the other two similar storms on 16 July 2003 and 20 November 2003. One of the reasons is probably that the sporadic E layer observed at the storms inhibited the generation of spread F by changing the Pedersen conductivity and suppressing the upward plasma drift.
Modeling the behavior of hot oxygen ions
Authors: Zettergren M. D. , Oliver W. L. , Blelly P.-L. , Alcaydé D.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Photochemical processes in the upper atmosphere are known to create significant amounts of energetic oxygen atoms or "hot O". In this research we simulate the effects of ionized hot oxygen, hot O+, on the ionosphere. We find that hot O+ is not able to maintain a temperature substantially above the ambient ion temperature at most altitudes, the exception being around the F-region ion density peak. However, the thermalization of hot O+, due to Coulomb collisions, represents an important heating process for the ambient ions. A time-dependent, fluid-kinetic model of the ionosphere (TRANSCAR) is used to self-consistently simulate hot O+ by considering it to be a separate species from O+. A Maxwellian neutral hot O population having characteristics consistent with current knowledge is added to TRANSCAR. The production of the hot O+ is then computed by considering ion charge exchange with the neutral hot O population that we have assumed. Loss of hot O+ results from these charge exchange reactions and from reactions with molecular atoms.
Simulation of the interchange instability in a magnetospheric substorm site
Authors: Mingalev O. V. , Golovchanskaya I. V. , Maltsev Y. P.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We perform modeling of the interchange instability driven by longitudinal pressure asymmetry in the region of the pressure buildup that forms in the inner magnetosphere at the substorm growth phase. The simulation refers to the dawnward side of the Harang discontinuity and times after Bz IMF turning northward. The solution for the equilibrium state indicates tailward flows associated with vortices, which is in agreement with a previous finding of Ashour-Abdalla et al. (1999, 2002). We show that in the regions of equilibrium field-aligned currents (FACs), small initial perturbations in pVγ (p is the isotropic plasma pressure, V is the unit magnetic flux tube volume, γ=5/3 the adiabatic exponent), set up as ripples inclined to azimuth, grow in time. For the background FAC of ~10-6 A/m2, the linear growth rate of the instability is ~6 min. Starting from the 12th min of evolution, the perturbations exhibit nonlinear deformations, develop undulations and front steepening. An interesting peculiarity in the distribution of the associated small-scale FACs is that they become asymmetric with time. Specifically, the downward currents are more localised, reaching densities up to 15×10-6 A/m2 at the nonlinear stage. The upward FACs are more dispersed. When large enough, these currents are likely to produce the aurora. We also run our simulation for the initial perturbations of large transverse scales in order to demonstrate that the interchange instability can be responsible for pressure and cross-tail current spatial variations of great extent.
Variability of three-dimensional sea breeze structure in southern France: observations and evaluation of empirical scaling laws
Authors: Drobinski P. , Bastin S. , Dabas A. , Delville P. , Reitebuch O.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Sea-breeze dynamics in southern France is investigated using an airborne Doppler lidar, a meteorological surface station network and radiosoundings, in the framework of the ESCOMPTE experiment conducted during summer 2001 in order to evaluate the role of thermal circulations on pollutant transport and ventilation. The airborne Doppler lidar WIND contributed to three-dimensional (3-D) mapping of the sea breeze circulation in an unprecedented way. The data allow access to the onshore and offshore sea breeze extents (xsb), and to the sea breeze depth (zsb) and intensity (usb). They also show that the return flow of the sea breeze circulation is very seldom seen in this area due to (i) the presence of a systematic non zero background wind, and (ii) the 3-D structure of the sea breeze caused by the complex coastline shape and topography. A thorough analysis is conducted on the impact of the two main valleys (Rhône and Durance valleys) affecting the sea breeze circulation in the area. Finally, this dataset also allows an evaluation of the existing scaling laws used to derive the sea breeze intensity, depth and horizontal extent. The main results of this study are that (i) latitude, cumulative heating and surface friction are key parameters of the sea breeze dynamics; (ii) in presence of strong synoptic flow, all scaling laws fail in predicting the sea breeze characteristics (the sea breeze depth, however being the most accurately predicted); and (iii) the ratio zsb/usb is approximately constant in the sea breeze flow.
Evidence on a link between the intensity of Schumann resonance and global surface temperature
Authors: Sekiguchi M. , Hayakawa M. , Nickolaenko A. P. , Hobara Y.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. A correlation is investigated between the intensity of the global electromagnetic oscillations (Schumann resonance) with the planetary surface temperature. The electromagnetic signal was monitored at Moshiri (Japan), and temperature data were taken from surface meteorological observations. The series covers the period from November 1998 to May 2002. The Schumann resonance intensity is found to vary coherently with the global ground temperature in the latitude interval from 45° S to 45° N: the relevant cross-correlation coefficient reaches the value of 0.9. It slightly increases when the high-latitude temperature is incorporated. Correspondence among the data decreases when we reduce the latitude interval, which indicates the important role of the middle-latitude lightning in the Schumann resonance oscillations. We apply the principal component (or singular spectral) analysis to the electromagnetic and temperature records to extract annual, semiannual, and interannual variations. The principal component analysis (PCA) clarifies the links between electromagnetic records and meteorological data.
Directional features of the downshifted peak observed in HF-induced stimulated electromagnetic emission spectra obtained using an interferometer
Authors: Tereshchenko E. D. , Yurik R. Yu. , Khudukon B. Z. , Rietveld M. T. , Isham B. , Belyey V. , Brekke A. , Hagfors T. , Grill M.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. A high frequency (HF) ionospheric modification experiment was carried out between 25 September and 8 October 2004, using the EISCAT HF transmitter located near Tromsø, Norway. During this experiment the spectra of the stimulated HF sideband waves (stimulated electromagnetic emission or SEE) induced by the HF pump were observed using an interferometer consisting of three spaced receiving antennas with baselines both along and perpendicular to the meridian, and a multi-channel coherent receiver, installed in the vicinity of the HF facility. The transmitter operated at 4040kHz and its antenna beam was scanned to angles of 0°, 7°, 14°, and 21° south from vertical, pausing 4min at each position. This paper focuses on features of the downshifted peak (DP) emission, which has not been as thoroughly studied as many of the other SEE spectral features observable within the EISCAT pump frequency range. It was found that the signal-weighted direction of the DP source region remained within 5° of magnetic zenith as the HF beam was tilted between 0 and 21° south of vertical.
Gadanki radar observations of daytime E region echoes and structures extending down to 87 km
Authors: Patra A. K. , Sripathi S. , Rao P. B. , Choudhary R. K.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Observations of daytime E region echoes extending to altitudes as low as 87 km made using the Gadanki MST radar are presented. The echoing regions display descending layer resembling the characteristics of tidal winds and show structures with periods 2–4 min having both positive and negative slopes. At the center of the layer where strongest SNR is observed, the velocity is maximum and spectral width is minimum. At altitudes slightly above and below, where SNR is relatively low, velocity is low but spectral width is maximum. Daytime observations of echoes extending to such a low altitude and associated structures akin to nighttime quasi-periodic echoes throughout the observational period are the most significant results, not reported earlier from Gadanki and other locations. Other notable results are large SNR (as high as 15 dB) and spectral width (as high as 70 m/s) at the bottommost altitudes, where collisional damping of the plasma waves is significant
Subauroral electron temperature enhancement in the nighttime ionosphere
Authors: Prölss G. W.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. In the nightside subauroral region, heat transfer from the ring current causes a significant increase in the electron temperature of the upper ionosphere. Using DE-2 satellite data, we investigate the properties of this remarkable feature. We find that the location of the temperature enhancement is primarily dependent on the level of geomagnetic activity. For geomagnetically quiet conditions ()the temperature peak is located slightly poleward of 60° invariant latitude. For each decrease in the Dst index by 10 nT, it moves equatorward by about one degree. To a lesser degree, the location of the heating effect also depends on magnetic local time, with a significant positional asymmetry about midnight. The magnitude of the temperature enhancement varies with altitude. Within the height range 280 to 940 km, the peak temperature increases by 73%, on average. Thereby a conspicuous increase in the temperature gradient is observed above about 700km altitude. The magnitude of the heating effect also depends on the level of geomagnetic activity. For a decrease in the Dst index by 100 nT, the peak temperature increases by 46%, on average. This rate of increase, however, depends on season and is significantly smaller during winter conditions. A superposed epoch type of averaging procedure is used to obtain mean latitudinal profiles of the temperature enhancement. For an altitude of 500 km, the following mean properties are derived: amplitude K; width at half this peak value deg; distance between equatorward boundary and maximum deg. On average, a decrease in the electron density is observed at the location of the temperature enhancement, at least at 500 km altitude. At the same time, a moderate increase in the zonal ion drift speed is recorded at this location. During larger geomagnetic storms, the latitudinal profile of the temperature enhancement assumes a more step-function-like shape, with a broad increase in electron temperature poleward from the equatorial edge of the electron temperature enhancement. Also the heating effects may extend to very low latitudes (less than 35° invariant latitude). And residual heating effects are observed long after the storm-substorm activity has ceased. The results obtained in this study should prove useful for both empirical and theoretical modeling of the nightside subauroral ionosphere.
Method to locate the polar cap boundary in the nightside ionosphere and application to a substorm event
Authors: Aikio A. T. , Pitkänen T. , Kozlovsky A. , Amm O.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. In this paper we describe a new method to be used for the polar cap boundary (PCB) determination in the nightside ionosphere by using the EISCAT Svalbard radar (ESR) field-aligned measurements by the 42-m antenna and southward directed low-elevation measurements by the ESR 32 m antenna or northward directed low-elevation measurements by the EISCAT VHF radar at Tromsø. The method is based on increased electron temperature (Te) caused by precipitating particles on closed field lines. Since the Svalbard field-aligned measurement provides the reference polar cap Te height profile, the method can be utilised only when the PCB is located between Svalbard and the mainland. Comparison with the Polar UVI images shows that the radar-based method is generally in agreement with the PAE (poleward auroral emission) boundary from Polar UVI. The new technique to map the polar cap boundary was applied to a substorm event on 6 November 2002. Simultaneous measurements by the MIRACLE magnetometers enabled us to put the PCB location in the framework of ionospheric electrojets. During the substorm growth phase, the polar cap expands and the region of the westward electrojet shifts gradually more apart from the PCB. The substorm onset takes place deep within the region of closed magnetic field region, separated by about 6–7° in latitude from the PCB in the ionosphere. We interpret the observations in the framework of the near-Earth neutral line (NENL) model of substorms. After the substorm onset, the reconnection at the NENL reaches within 3 min the open-closed field line boundary and then the PCB moves poleward together with the poleward boundary of the substorm current wedge. The poleward expansion occurs in the form of individual bursts, which are separated by 2–10 min, indicating that the reconnection in the magnetotail neutral line is impulsive. The poleward expansions of the PCB are followed by latitude dispersed intensifications in the westward electrojet with high latitudes affected first and lower latitudes later. We suggest that reconnection bursts energize plasma and produce enhanced flows toward the Earth. While drifting earthward, part of the plasma population precipitates to the ionosphere producing latitude-dispersed enhancements in the WEJ.
Cluster observation of plasma flow reversal in the magnetotail during a substorm
Authors: Lui A. T. Y. , Zheng Y. , Zhang Y. , Livi S. , Rème H. , Dunlop M. W. , Gustafsson G. , Mende S. B. , Mouikis C. , Kistler L. M.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We investigate in detail a reversal of plasma flow from tailward to earthward detected by Cluster at the downstream distance of ~19 RE in the midnight sector of the magnetotail on 22 August 2001. This flow reversal was accompanied by a sign reversal of the Bz component and occurred during the late substorm expansion phase as revealed by simultaneous global view of auroral activity from IMAGE. We examine the associated Hall current system signature, current density, electric field, Lorentz force, and current dissipation/dynamo term, the last two parameters being new features that have not been studied previously for plasma flow reversals. It is found that (1) there was no clear quadrupole Hall current system signature organized by the flow reversal time, (2) the x-component of the Lorentz force did not change sign while the other two did, (3) the timing sequence of flow reversal from the Cluster configuration did not match tailward motion of a single plasma flow source, (4) the electric field was occasionally dawnward, producing a dynamo effect, and (5) the electric field was occasionally larger at the high-latitude plasma sheet than near the neutral sheet. These observations are consistent with the current disruption model for substorms in which these disturbances are due to shifting dominance of multiple current disruption sites and turbulence at the observing location.
Survey of large-amplitude flapping motions in the midtail current sheet
Authors: Sergeev V. A. , Sormakov D. A. , Apatenkov S. V. , Baumjohann W. , Nakamura R. , Runov A. V. , Mukai T. , Nagai T.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We surveyed fast current sheet crossings (flapping motions) over the distance range 10–30 RE in the magnetotail covered by the Geotail spacecraft. Since the local tilts of these dynamic sheets are large and variable in these events, we compare three different methods of evaluating current sheet normals using 4-s/c Cluster data and define the success criteria for the single-spacecraft-based method (MVA) to obtain the reliable results. Then, after identifying more than ~1100 fast CS crossings over a 3-year period of Geotail observations in 1997–1999, we address their parameters, spatial distribution and activity dependence. We confirm that over the entire distance covered and LT bins, fast crossings have considerable tilts in the YZ plane (from estimated MVA normals) which show a preferential appearance of one (YZ kink-like) mode that is responsible for these severe current sheet perturbations. Their occurrence is highly inhomogeneous; it sharply increases with radial distance and has a peak in the tail center (with some duskward shift), resembling the occurrence of the BBFs, although there is no one-to-one local correspondence between these two phenomena. The crossing durations typically spread around 1 min and decrease significantly where the high-speed flows are registered. Based on an AE index superposed epoch study, the flapping motions prefer to appear during the substorm expansion phase, although a considerable number of events without any electrojet and auroral activity were also observed. We also present statistical distributions of other parameters and briefly discuss what could be possible mechanisms to generate the flapping motions.
Ionospheric characteristics of the dusk-side branch of the two-cell aurora
Authors: Shue J.-H. , Newell P. T. , Liou K. , Meng C.-I. , Hairston M. R. , Rich F. J.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The two-cell aurora is characterized by azimuthally elongated regions of enhanced auroral brightness over extended local times in the dawn and dusk sectors. Its association with the convection, particle precipitation, and field-aligned currents under various phases of substorms has not been fully understood. With Polar Ultraviolet Imager auroral images in conjunction with Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F12 spacecraft on the dusk-side branch of the two-cell aurora, we are able to investigate an association of the auroral emissions with the electric fields, field-aligned currents, and energy flux of electrons. Results show that the substorm expansion onset does not significantly change the orientation of the dusk-side branch of the two-cell aurora. Also, the orientation of the magnetic deflection vector produced by the region 1 field-aligned current changed from 73±1° to the DMSP trajectory during the substorm growth phase, to 44±6° to the DMSP trajectory during the substorm expansion phase. With a comparison between the orientation of the dusk-side branch of the two-cell aurora and the orientation of the magnetic deflection vector, it is found that the angular difference between the two orientations is 28±5° during the substorm growth phase, and 13±6° during the substorm expansion phase.
Theoretical aspects of the onset of Indian summer monsoon from perturbed orography simulations in a GCM
Authors: Chakraborty A. , Nanjundiah R. S. , Srinivasan J.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. A theory is proposed to determine the onset of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) in an Atmospheric General Circulation Model (AGCM). The onset of ISM is delayed substantially in the absence of global orography. The impact of orography over different parts of the Earth on the onset of ISM has also been investigated using five additional perturbed simulations. The large difference in the date of onset of ISM in these simulations has been explained by a new theory based on the Surface Moist Static Energy (SMSE) and vertical velocity at the mid-troposphere. It is found that onset occurs only after SMSE crosses a threshold value and the large-scale vertical motion in the middle troposphere becomes upward. This study shows that both dynamics and thermodynamics play profound roles in the onset of the monsoon.
A summary of WIND magnetic clouds for years 1995-2003: model-fitted parameters, associated errors and classifications
Authors: Lepping R. P. , Berdichevsky D. B. , Wu C.-C. , Szabo A. , Narock T. , Mariani F. , Lazarus A. J. , Quivers A. J.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Interplanetary magnetic clouds (MCs) have been identified for the first 8.6 years of the WIND mission, and their magnetic field structures have been parameter-fitted by a static, force free, cylindrically-symmetric model (Lepping et al., 1990) with various levels of success. This paper summarizes various aspects of the results of the model fitting by providing: seven estimated model fit-parameter values for each of the 82 MCs found, their objectively determined quality estimates, closest approach vectors (in two coordinate frames), fit-parameter errors for the cases of acceptable quality (50 cases, or 61%), axial magnetic fluxes, axial current densities, and total axial current - as well as some examples of MC profiles for various conditions and "categories" for each case (e.g. Bz: N→S or S→N, etc.). MC quality is estimated from a quantitative consideration of a large set of parameters, such as the chi-squared of the model fit, degree of asymmetry of the B profile, and a comparison of two means of estimating radius. This set of MCs was initially identified by visual inspection of relevant field and plasma data. Each resulting MC candidate is then tested through the use of the MC parameter model, for various adjusted durations to determine the best fit, which helps to refine the boundary-times. The resulting MC set is called Set 1. Another, larger, set (Set 2) of MCs is identified through an automated program whose criteria are based on general MC plasma and field characteristics at 1AU determined through past experience. Set 1 is almost fully contained within Set 2, whose frequency of occurrence better matches that of the sunspot cycle than Set 1. The difference-set (Set 2-Set 1) is referred to as the magnetic cloud-like (MCL) set, whose members do not very well represent good flux ropes through modeling. We present a discussion of how a MC's front boundary is specifically identified in terms of multi-parameter considerations (i.e. any one or more of: increase in B, directional discontinuity, magnetic hole in B, drop in proton plasma beta, B-fluctuation level change, proton temperature drop, etc.), as well as through the application of the flux rope model. Also presented are examples of unusual MCs, as well as some commonly occurring relationships, such as the existence and frequency (approx. 1/2 the time) of upstream interplanetary shocks, and less frequent internal shocks.
An automatic method to determine the frequency scale of the ionospheric Alfvén resonator using data from Hylaty station, Poland
Authors: Odzimek A. , Kułak A. , Michalec A. , Kubisz J.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. ULF/ELF magnetic field data recorded at the "Hylaty" station in Poland (49°19' N, 22°56' E; L≃2) are analysed to find the characteristics of spectral resonance structures (SRS) in the frequency range 1–5 Hz, related to the ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR). An automatic procedure is employed to SRS events observed at "Hylaty" during the nighttime in 2001–2003, to calculate the parameter which determines the separation between the harmonics of the resonator, termed the frequency scale. Diurnal and seasonal variations of the frequency scale within the range of 0.4–0.8 Hz have been found. The usefulness and disadvantages of this particular method of SRS analysis, and of other methods, are discussed.
On the validity of the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) altitude of 350 km in the Indian equatorial and low-latitude sector
Authors: Rama Rao P. V. S. , Niranjan K. , Prasad D. S. V. V. D. , Gopi Krishna S. , Uma G.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The GPS data provides an effective way to estimate the total electron content (TEC) from the differential time delay of L1 and L2 transmissions from the GPS. The spacing of the constellation of GPS satellites in orbits are such that a minimum of four GPS satellites are observed at any given point in time from any location on the ground. Since these satellites are in different parts of the sky and the electron content in the ionosphere varies both spatially and temporally, the ionospheric pierce point (IPP) altitude or the assumed altitude of the centroid of mass of the ionosphere plays an important role in converting the vertical TEC from the measured slant TEC and vice versa. In this paper efforts are made to examine the validity of the IPP altitude of 350 km in the Indian zone comprising of the ever-changing and dynamic ionosphere from the equator to the ionization anomaly crest region and beyond, using the simultaneous ionosonde data from four different locations in India. From this data it is found that the peak electron density height (hpF2) varies from about 275 to 575 km at the equatorial region, and varies marginally from 300 to 350 km at and beyond the anomaly crest regions. Determination of the effective altitude of the IPP employing the inverse method suggested by Birch et al. (2002) did not yield any consistent altitude in particular for low elevation angles, but varied from a few hundred to one thousand kilometers and beyond in the Indian region. However, the vertical TEC computed from the measured GPS slant TEC for different IPP altitudes ranging from 250 to 750 km in the Indian region has revealed that the TEC does not change significantly with the IPP altitude, as long as the elevation angle of the satellite is greater than 50 degrees. However, in the case of satellites with lower elevation angles (<50°), there is a significant departure in the TEC computed using different IPP altitudes from both methods. Therefore, the IPP altitude of 350 km may be taken as valid even in the Indian sector but only in the cases of satellite passes with elevation angles greater than 50°.
Reconfiguration of polar-cap plasma in the magnetic midnight sector
Authors: Pryse S. E. , Wood A. G. , Middleton H. R. , McCrea I. W. , Lester M.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Radio tomography and the EISCAT and SuperDARN radars have been used to identify long-lived, high-altitude, cold plasma in the antisunward convective flow across the polar cap. The projection of the feature to later times suggests that it was reconfigured in the Harang discontinuity to form an enhancement that was elongated in longitude in the sunward return flow of the high-latitude convection pattern. Comparison with a tomographic image at a later time supports the interpretation of a polar patch being reconfigured into a boundary blob. There is also evidence for a second plasma enhancement equatorward of the reconfigured blob, likely to have been produced by in situ precipitation. The observations indicate that the two mechanisms proposed in the literature for the production of boundary blobs are operating simultaneously to form two distinct density features separated slightly in latitude.
Meso-scale aurora within the expansion phase bulge
Authors: Partamies N. , Kauristie K. , Donovan E. , Spanswick E. , Liou K.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. We present ground-based optical, riometer and magnetometer recordings together with Polar UVI and GOES magnetic field observations of a substorm that occurred over Canada on 24 November 1997. This event involved a clear optical onset followed by poleward motion of the aurora as a signature of an expanding auroral bulge. During the expansion phase, there were three distinct types of meso-scale (10–1000 km) auroral structures embedded in the bulge: at first a series of equatorward moving auroral arcs, followed by a well-defined spiral pair, and finally north-south directed aurora (a streamer). The spirals occurred several minutes after the onset, and indicate a shear in the field-aligned current. The north-south aligned aurora that formed about 10 min after the onset suggest bursty bulk flow type flows taking place in the central plasma sheet. Polar UVI observations of the polar cap location indicate that the southward drifting arcs were associated with magnetospheric activity within closed field lines, while the auroral streamer was launched by the bulge reaching the polar cap boundary, i.e. the mid-tail reconnection starting on the open field lines. The riometer data imply high energy electron precipitation in the vicinity of the the poleward moving edge of the auroral bulge, starting at the onset and continuing until the formation of the north-south structure. In this paper, we examine this evolving auroral morphology within the context of substorm theories.
Dayside flow bursts and high-latitude reconnection when the IMF is strongly northward
Authors: Hu H. , Yeoman T. K. , Lester M. , Liu R. , Yang H. , Grocott A.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. The characteristics of dayside ionospheric convection are studied using Northern Hemispheric SuperDARN data and DMSP particle and flow observations when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was strongly northward during 13:00–15:00 UT on 2 March 2002. Although IMF Bx was positive, which is believed to favour Southern Hemisphere high-latitude reconnection at equinox, a four-cell convection pattern was observed and lasted for more than 1.5 h in the Northern Hemisphere. The reconnection rate derived from an analysis of the Northern Hemisphere SuperDARN data illustrates that the high-latitude reconnection was quasi-periodic, with a period between 4–16 min. A sawtooth-like and reverse-dispersed ion signature was observed by DMSP-F14 in the sunward cusp convection at around 14:41 UT, confirming that the high-latitude reconnection was pulsed. Accompanying the pulsed reconnection, strong antisunward ionospheric flow bursts were observed in the post-noon LLBL region on closed field lines, propagating with the same speed as the plasma convection. DMSP flow data show that a similar flow pattern and particle precipitation occurred in the conjugate Southern Hemisphere.
EISCAT observations of plasma patches at sub-auroral cusp latitudes
Authors: Moen J. , Carlson H. C. , Oksavik K. , Nielsen C. P. , Pryse S. E. , Middleton H. R. , McCrea I. W. , Gallop P.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. 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.
A kinetic model for runaway electrons in the ionosphere
Authors: Garcia G. , Forme F.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Electrodynamic models and measurements with satellites and incoherent scatter radars predict large field aligned current densities on one side of the auroral arcs. Different authors and different kinds of studies (experimental or modeling) agree that the current density can reach up to hundreds of µA/m2. This large current density could be the cause of many phenomena such as tall red rays or triggering of unstable ion acoustic waves. In the present paper, we consider the issue of electrons moving through an ionospheric gas of positive ions and neutrals under the influence of a static electric field. We develop a kinetic model of collisions including electrons/electrons, electrons/ions and electrons/neutrals collisions. We use a Fokker-Planck approach to describe binary collisions between charged particles with a long-range interaction. We present the essential elements of this collision operator: the Langevin equation for electrons/ions and electrons/electrons collisions and the Monte-Carlo and null collision methods for electrons/neutrals collisions. A computational example is given illustrating the approach to equilibrium and the impact of the different terms (electrons/electrons and electrons/ions collisions on the one hand and electrons/neutrals collisions on the other hand). Then, a parallel electric field is applied in a new sample run. In this run, the electrons move in the z direction parallel to the electric field. The first results show that all the electron distribution functions are non-Maxwellian. Furthermore, runaway electrons can carry a significant part of the total current density, up to 20% of the total current density.
On impulse excitation of the global poloidal modes in the magnetosphere
Authors: Mager P. N. , Klimushkin D. Yu.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Through the combined action of the field line curvature and finite plasma pressure in some regions of the magnetosphere (plasmapause, ring current) there can exist global poloidal Alfvén modes standing both along field lines and across magnetic shells and propagating along azimuth. In this paper we investigate the spatio-temporal structure of such waves generated by an impulsive source. In general, the mode is the sum of radial harmonics whose structure is described by Hermitian polynomials. For the usually observed second harmonic structure along the background field, frequencies of these radial harmonics are very close to each other; therefore, the generated wave is almost a monochromatic oscillation. But mixing of the harmonics with different radial structure causes the evolution of the initially poloidal wave into the toroidal one. This casts some doubts upon the interpretation of observed high-m poloidal waves as global poloidal modes.
Eigenmode stability analysis of drift-mirror modes in nonuniform plasmas
Authors: Klimushkin D. Yu. , Chen L.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Drift-mirror modes in a one-dimensional inhomogeneous model of the magnetosphere are studied by employing gyrokinetics, taking into account finite Larmor radius effects. A wave equation is derived which describes both the spatial structure of the modes, and its eigenvalue yields a growth rate of the mode. The finite Larmor radius effects are shown to raise the instability threshold especially for high-m waves, and lead to wave propagation across field lines.
Propagation pattern of low frequency waves in the terrestrial magnetosheath
Authors: Narita Y. , Glassmeier K.-H.
Published: June 2010

Abstract. Propagation pattern (distribution of phase velocities) is determined in three dimensions in the terrestrial magnetosheath on a statistical basis using Cluster spacecraft observations. It is found that the anti-sunward propagation dominates and that the propagation direction is toward the magnetosheath flank at smaller zenith angles, while it is toward the magnetopause at larger angles. This pattern is axially symmetric regardless of the interplanetary magnetic field direction and agrees qualitatively with the density gradient directions in a hydromagnetic flow model of the magnetosheath, suggesting that the wave refraction mechanism is more significant than the wave drift effect.