Self-consistent modeling of electron precipitation and responses in the ionosphere: application to low-altitude energization during substorms

Yu, Yiqun; Jordanova, Vania Koleva; McGranaghan, Ryan M.; Solomon, Stanley C.

doi:10.1029/2018GL078828

Title: Self-consistent modeling of electron precipitation and responses in the ionosphere: application to low-altitude energization during substorms

Journal Article · Mon Jun 25 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL078828· OSTI ID:1458960

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Beihang Univ., Beijing (China)
Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Univ. Corp. for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States); California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States)
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (United States)

Abstract We report a new modeling capability that self‐consistently couples physics‐based magnetospheric electron precipitation with its impact on the ionosphere. Specifically, the ring current model RAM‐SCBE is two‐way coupled to an ionospheric electron transport model GLOW (GLobal airglOW), representing a significant improvement over previous models, in which the ionosphere is either treated as a 2‐D spherical boundary of the magnetosphere or is driven by empirical precipitation models that are incapable of capturing small‐scale, transient variations. The new model enables us to study the impact of substorm‐associated, spectrum‐resolved electron precipitation on the 3‐D ionosphere. We found that after each substorm injection, a high‐energy tail of precipitation is produced in the dawn sector outside the plasmapause, by energetic electrons (10 < E < 100 keV) scattered by whistler‐mode chorus waves. Consequently, an ionospheric sublayer characterized by enhanced Pedersen conductivity arises at unusually low altitude (∼85 km), with its latitudinal width of ∼5–10° in the auroral zone. The sublayer structure appears intermittently, in correlation with recurrent substorm injections. It propagates eastward from the nightside to the dayside in the same drift direction of source electrons injected from the plasma sheet, resulting in global impact within the ionosphere. This study demonstrates the model's capability of revealing complex cross‐scale interactions in the geospace environment.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396; DEAC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1458960

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1460037

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-18-21528

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, Issue 13; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 15 works

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