Physics – Plasma Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000jgr...10515741m&link_type=abstract
Journal of Geophysical Research, Volume 105, Issue A7, p. 15741-15756
Physics
Plasma Physics
63
Ionosphere: Plasma Convection, Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetopause, Cusp, And Boundary Layers, Space Plasma Physics: Magnetic Reconnection
Scientific paper
We present the first spacecraft-borne imager observations of the auroral manifestation of transient magnetic flux transfer at the magnetopause. During an interval of interplanetary magnetic field Bz~-10nT, By~10nT, and solar wind dynamic pressure and velocity PSW~5nPa and vSW~650kms-1, Polar Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) images show a sequence of events, each of which begins as a bifurcation of the main auroral oval in the 14 to 16 magnetic local time (MLT) sector which subsequently progresses antisunward (eastward) at 2 kms-1 toward the 19 MLT sector. The poleward portion of the bifurcation is interpreted as a poleward-moving auroral form (PMAF) as has previously been observed by ground-based optical instrumentation and identified as the auroral signature of flux transfer events. Ground-based measurements of the associated plasma drift, made with the Cooperative U.K. Twin Located Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) Finland HF radar, show poleward (1 kms-1) and westward (1 kms-1) convection flow, consistent with the By tension force, as well as poleward-moving regions of backscatter. International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) magnetometers within the radar field of view observe poleward-progressing, 10 min period, X component magnetic deflections, which are consistent with the effect of Hall currents associated with the plasma flow. The combined radar and optical observations suggest that the PMAFs can be 3500 km or 7 hours of MLT in length. The antisunward motion of the bifurcation of the auroral oval is interpreted as an expansion of the reconnection X line along the flank of the magnetopause.
Brittnacher M.
Cowley Stan W. H.
Lester Mark
Milan Stephen E.
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