Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agufmsm22b..09g&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2002, abstract #SM22B-09
Other
2704 Auroral Phenomena (2407), 2708 Current Systems (2409), 2716 Energetic Particles, Precipitating, 2736 Magnetosphere/Ionosphere Interactions
Scientific paper
The high-latitude ionosphere is a conducting boundary of the magnetosphere that closes global magnetospheric current systems. It is also a significant mass source of the plasmasheet. At times the auroral ionosphere is expected to control magnetospheric processes and the magnetospheric particle population. However, its role in the particle interchanges (magnetospheric particle precipitation, ionospheric particle outflow) and in the induced aurora is still being debated. The tilt of the Earth's rotation axis to the ecliptic and the tilt of the Earth's magnetic dipole to the rotation axis result in seasonal asymmetry and variations of auroral phenomenology. An approach to address the role of the ionosphere in the MI coupling is to appeal to statistical studies classifying particle or optical data by magnetic locations, solar zenith angles, and solar activity. Correlations between auroral brightness and precipitating electron flux (causing intense aurora) with solar EUV-related parameters (solar index, Pedersen conductance) have been reported. In the premidnight sector, the intense aurora is suppressed in sunlit conditions as compared with darkness. Seasonal statistical studies of ion beams, auroral kilometric radiations, and auroral electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves support the finding of this sunlit/dark hemispheric asymmetry. These observations reinforce the assertion that the background density of ionospheric plasma, which is controlled by the solar EUV flux, controls the extent to which intense auroral acceleration processes can operate. Nevertheless, there is still no consensus on what generators power the electric currents. Simultaneous observations of magnetically conjugate auroral regions can offer the unique opportunity to study the MI coupling under different illumination, that is, ionospheric, conditions, for given geomagnetic and interplanetary activities. Unlike the observations of one hemisphere over several seasons, such conjugate observations eliminate other causes of seasonal variations, such as the heliographic and Russell-McPherron effects. We will discuss the need for global, simultaneous observations of both hemispheres of MI coupling, in particular during substorm and storm periods. We will present a possible space mission which can assess the role of the ionosphere, in the MI coupling.
Chakrabarti Sangeeta
Galand Marina
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