Response of the ionospheric convection pattern to a rotation of the interplanetary magnetic field on January 14, 1988

Journal Article · Tue Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/92JA01731· OSTI ID:6902384

Cumnock, J A; Heelis, R A; Hairston, M R ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Texas, Richardson (United States)

Ionospheric convection signatures observed over the polar regions are provided by the DMSP F8 satellite. The authors consider five passes over the southern summer hemisphere during a time when the z component of the interplantary magnetic field was stable and positive and the y component changed slowly from positive to negative. Large-scale regions of sunward flow are observed at very high latitudes consistent with a strong z component. When B[sub y] and B[sub z] are positive, but B[sub y] is greater than B[sub z], strong evidence exists for dayside merging in a manner similar to that expected when B[sub z] is negative. This signature is diminished as B[sub y] decreases and becomes smaller than B[sub z] resulting in a four-cell convection pattern displaced toward the sunward side of the dawn-dusk meridian. In this case the sign of B[sub y] affects the relative sizes of the two highest-latitude cells. In the southern hemisphere the duskside high-latitude cell is dominant for B[sub y] positive and the dawnside high-latitude cell is dominant for B[sub y] negative. The relative importance of possible electric field sources in the low-latitude boundary layer, the dayside cusp, and the lobe all need to be considered to adequately explain the observed evolution of the convection pattern.

• OSTI ID: 6902384
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 97:A12; ISSN JGREA2; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CONVECTION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ENERGY TRANSFER
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELDS
IONOSPHERE
IONOSPHERIC EFFECTS
LATITUDE EFFECT
MAGNETIC FIELD CONFIGURATIONS
MAGNETIC FIELD REVERSAL
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MASS TRANSFER
MOTION
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
POLAR REGIONS
ROTATION
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
VARIATIONS