Enhanced antisunward convection and F region scintillations at mid-latitudes during storm onset

Journal Article · Sat Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JA093iA10p11537· OSTI ID:5963160

Foster, J C ^[1]; Aarons, J ^[2]

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1. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Westford (United States)
2. Boston Univ., MA (United States)

Millstone Hill radar observations over a wide span of latitudes detail the onset of 300 m/s antisunward (westward) convection at mid and low latitudes in the morning sector as a region of storm-enhanced sunward convection retreats poleward. Ring current observations reported by Lui et al. (1987) suggest that the magnetospheric shielding layer was coincident with the observed reversal between sunward and antisunward convection. A strong southward component of the F region neutral wind is observed at latitudes equatorward of the convection reversal. These observations are in agreement with the model of Spiro et al. (1988), who find that storm-enhanced neutrral winds at latitudes equatorward of the shielding layer can generate a long-lived perturbation electric field in the inner magnetosphere. The observations show the growth of the subauroral electric field as the shielding boundary moves poleward. They observe 136-MHz scintillations in both the auroral sunwarrd convection region and the region of subauroral antisunward convection when the convection electric fields exceed 5 mV/m.

• OSTI ID: 5963160
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 93:A10; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONVECTION
CURRENTS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTRIC CURRENTS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ENERGY TRANSFER
EVALUATION
F REGION
HEAT TRANSFER
IONOSPHERE
MAGNETIC BAYS
MAGNETIC STORMS
MASS TRANSFER
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
RING CURRENTS
SCINTILLATIONS
WIND