A possible origin of dayside Pc1 magnetic pulsations observed at high latitudes

Induction magnetometer observations of dayside Pc1 activity at Barentsburg (BAB, Spitsbergen archipelago, 78.05°N, 14.12°E) are combined with data from two magnetometers located in Scandinavia and the Kola peninsula. Seven events with very large negative IMF <i>B<sub>z</sub></i> components were considered. For all of the events, the cusp location was expected to be significantly shifted equatorward from the statistical position such that the BAB magnetometer was located well inside the polar cap. The DMSP particle data indicated that the BAB magnetometer was indeed inside the polar cap, whereas other magnetometers were collocated with the ionospheric projections of the cusp, the low-latitude boundary layer or the boundary plasma sheet. Pc1 magnetic pulsations were observed only at BAB. In three cases, for which SuperDARN convection data were available, the Pc1 activity correlated with intervals of large-scale convection reconfiguration, such that the plasma flow crossing the BAB location was associated with newly-reconnected magnetic flux tubes drifting tailward. The convection reconfigurations were in response to a decrease in the IMF <i>B<sub>y</sub></i> component. We argue that the source of the observed Pc1 pulsations is anisotropic plasma of the depletion layer within the magnetosheath. The plasma anisotropy supports the excitation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves that are detectable with a ground-based magnetometer when the flux tubes containing the unstable plasma become connected to the Earth's ionosphere in the course of the dayside reconnection processes

Geomagnetic disturbances on ground associated with particle precipitation during SC

We have examined several cases of magnetosphere compression by solar wind pressure pulses using a set of instruments located in the noon sector of auroral zone. We have found that the increase in riometric absorption (sudden commencement absorption, SCA) occurred simultaneously with the beginning of negative or positive magnetic variations and broadband enhancement of magnetic activity in the frequency range above 0.1 Hz. Since magnetic variations were observed before the step-like increase of magnetic field at equatorial station (main impulse, MI), the negative declinations resembled the so-called preliminary impulse, PI. In this paper a mechanism for the generation of PI is introduced whereby PI's generation is linked to SCA – associated precipitation and the local enhancement of ionospheric conductivity leading to the reconstruction of the ionospheric current system prior to MI. Calculation showed that PI polarity depends on orientation of the background electric field and location of the observation point relative to ionospheric irregularity. For one case of direct measurements of electric field in the place where the ionospheric irregularity was present, the sign of calculated disturbance corresponded to the observed one. High-resolution measurements on IRIS facility and meridional chain of the induction magnetometers are utilized for the accurate timing of the impact of solar wind irregularity on the magnetopause

Bursts of ULF noise excited by sudden changes of solar wind dynamic pressure

International audienceWe present the results of analysis of the dayside magnetic pulsation response to a sudden change in solar wind dynamic pressure. We concentrate on the events when a burst or a series of short-lived bursts in the Pc1 frequency range with the repetition period of 7?15 min were observed on the ground around the local noon. Not every impulse of large amplitude caused this phenomenon. We have found that the ULF bursts were excited when the spectrograms of the DMSP satellites showed a signature of 10?30 keV ions in the vicinity of the magnetic flux tube of the ground observatory, that may be related to a geomagnetic storm preceding the event. In light of this finding a possible model of the phenomenon is suggested in which the hot protons influence significantly both the generation and modulation of Pc1 activity

The response of the azimuthal component of the ionospheric electric field to auroral arc brightening

International audienceWe have analyzed the response of azimuthal component of the ionospheric electric field to auroral arc activity. We have chosen for analysis three intervals of coordinated EISCAT and TV observations on 18 February, 1993. These intervals include three kinds of arc activity: the appearance of a new auroral arc, the gradual brightening of the existing arc and variations of the arc luminosity. The arcs were mostly east-west aligned. In all cases, the enhancement of arc luminosity is accompanied by a decrease in the westward component of the ionospheric electric field. In contrast, an increase of that component seems to be connected with arc fading. The observed response is assumed to have the same nature as the "short circuit" of an external electric field by the conductor. The possible consequence of this phenomenon is discussed..Keywords. Ionosphere (electric fields and currents; ionospheric irregularities) · Magnetospheric physics (auroral phenomena

Полярные сияния в каспе и его приполюсной окрестности: исследование отдельного события

Summary We present a case study of the dayside aurora observed simultaneously with optical instruments from the ground and with auroral particle spectrometers aboard the DMSP F16 and F17 satellites. Optical observations were carried out with an all-sky camera at the Polar Geophysical Institute (PGI) observatory Barentsburg on Svalbard. The aurora as a whole moved equatorward in response to negative turning of the IMF Bz component and then the distinct faint rayed arc intensified, moved to the north and faded. Satellite DMSP F17 crossed the cusp twenty minutes after Bz turned southward. Joint analysis of optical and satellite data showed that faint auroral structures are embedded into the cusp precipitations and correspond to the bursts of electron precipitations with energy below 100 eV. The next satellite crossed the camera field-of-view ten minutes later and the data showed that the source of the faded poleward moving rayed arc was located, most probably, on the non-closed magnetic field lines. This finding and the presence of ion-energy dispersion in the DMSP data allows us to make the conclusion that the dayside reconnection may be considered as the reason for this kind of aurora activity. In this study we also estimated the altitude and horizontal scale of auroral rays in the cusp.Исследован редкий случай одновременной регистрации дневных полярных сияний наземной оптической аппаратурой и детектором высыпающихся частиц на спутниках DMSP F16 и F17. Оптические измерения проводились камерой полного обзора неба Полярного геофизического института, установленной в обсерватории Баренцбург на арх. Шпицберген. Следуя развороту вертикальной компоненты межпланетного магнитного поля (Bz-компоненты ММП) в область отрицательных значений, система слабых лучистых дуг сместилась к югу, после чего одна из дуг начала дрейфовать обратно к полюсу и пропала. Спутник DMSP F17 пересек касп спустя двадцать минут после разворота Bz-компоненты. Совместный анализ оптических и спутниковых данных показал, что наблюдаемые слабые лучистые структуры находятся в области каспенных высыпаний и пространственно связаны с всплеском высыпающихся электронов с энергией менее 100 эВ. Следующий спутник DMSP пересек поле  зрения камеры спустя десять минут после первого,  и анализ его данных показал, что эта дуга в момент исчезновения находилась в области разомкнутых силовых линий. Этот результат, дополненный специфической формой протонных высыпаний в данных спутника DMSP, которую традиционно связывают с пересоединением, позволил нам прийти к выводу, что смещавшаяся к полюсу слабая лучистая дуга могла представлять собой ионосферный след только что пересоединившейся магнитной силовой трубки, уносимой солнечным ветром в антисолнечном направлении. Оценена высота и поперечный размер элемента лучистой структуры в каспе

Azimuthal expansion of high-latitude auroral arcs

International audienceWe used the TV auroral observations in Barentsburg (78.05° N 14.12° E) in Spitsbergen archipelago, together with the data of the CUTLASS HF radars and the POLAR satellite images to study azimuthal (in the east-west direction) expansion of the high-latitude auroral arcs. It is shown that the east or west edge of the arc moved in the same direction as the convection flow, westward in the pre-midnight sector and eastward in the post-midnight sector. The velocity of arc expansion was of the order of 2.5 km/s, which is 2?3 times larger than the convection velocity measured in the arc vicinity and 2?3 times smaller than the velocity of the bright patches propagating along the arc. The arc expanded from the active auroras seen from the POLAR satellite around midnight as a region of enhanced luminosity, which might be the auroral bulge or WTS. The pole- or equatorward drift of the arcs occurred at the velocity of the order of 100 m/s that was close to the convection velocity in the same direction. These experimental results can be well explained in terms of the interchange (or flute) instability