Mid-latitude SuperDARN Measurements of the Extended Local Time Structure and Dynamics of Sub-Auroral Plasma Streams

Details Mid-latitude SuperDARN Measurements of the Extended Local Time Structure and Dynamics of Sub-Auroral Plasma Streams Mid-latitude SuperDARN Measurements of the Extended Local Time Structure and Dynamics of Sub-Auroral Plasma Streams

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsm51b2093g&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SM51B-2093

Physics

[2431] Ionosphere / Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Interactions, [2700] Magnetospheric Physics, [2730] Magnetospheric Physics / Magnetosphere: Inner, [2760] Magnetospheric Physics / Plasma Convection

Scientific paper

Over the past several years, funding from the National Science Foundation Mid-Sized Infrastructure (MSI) Program has enabled the expansion of a mid-latitude network of SuperDARN HF radars. Currently the network spans the continental U.S.A and includes previously developed radars at Wallops Island and Blackstone, VA and four MSI-funded radars. Two of the MSI radars are located near Hays, Kansas and two are located near Christmas Valley, Oregon. With the current configuration of radars, it has been possible to detect sub-auroral plasma streams (SAPS), identified as latitudinally-narrow high-velocity flow regions equatorward of the main auroral electron precipitation zone, that extend over the breadth of the North American continent and the neighboring regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. SAPS have previously been reported using data from low-altitude polar-orbiting spacecraft, incoherent scatter radars, and the SuperDARN radars, but these are amongst the first observations of the SAPS velocity structure as it is observed over 6 or more hours of local time and for durations ranging up to 8 hours of real time. The SAPS flow channel is most clearly observed when there is good coupling between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere (Southward IMF). As the IMF varies between southward and northward, the intensity of the flow is modulated, but the geomagnetic location of the SAPS channel does not change dramatically. To date, SAPS channels exhibiting the characteristics described above are most commonly observed under moderately disturbed conditions (Kp=3,4) and are commonly located near 60 degrees geomagnetic. The latitude of the SAPS feature decreases by several degrees between the dusk and midnight sectors. Overall, the SAPs feature appears to be an important localized flow enhancement that maps to a significant local time sector of the inner magnetosphere and it is surprisingly responsive to changes in solar-wind magnetosphere coupling. The extended ionospheric coverage provided by the SuperDARN network makes it an excellent tool to complement the data products of current and future multi-spacecraft missions.

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