Two-dimensional mapping of dayside convection

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:7242156

Foster, J C; Yeh, H C; Holt, J M; Evans, D S

Millstone Hill radar azimuth scans were used to map the large-scale features of the ionospheric convection pattern in the vicinity of the cusp and cleft. Each scan covers 5 hours of MLT and 20 deg of invariant latitude with 30 minute temporal resolution Individual snapshots of the convection pattern for disturbed conditions on 31 January 1982 span the entire region of convection convergence near noon and compare favorably with average model representations of the dayside region. The characteristic features of ion and electron precipitation observed during satellite overflights of the radar field of view are used to identify the cusp and cleft and to relate the location of these magnetospheric features to the pattern of ionospheric convection electric field. Cusp precipitation is seen at 70 deg lat. and 09 MLT at the sunward/anti-sunward convection reversal immediately after a sudden turning of interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) B sub y from -5 nT to +5 nT while IMF B sub z was -10 nT.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7242156
• Report Number(s): AD-A-214541/5/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AZIMUTH
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
CONVECTION
CONVERGENCE
DISTURBANCES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON PRECIPITATION
ELECTRONS
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ENERGY TRANSFER
FERMIONS
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
HEAT TRANSFER
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
IONOSPHERE
IONOSPHERIC STORMS
IONS
LATITUDE EFFECT
LEPTONS
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MASS TRANSFER
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
SPACE
SUDDEN IONOSPHERIC DISTURBANCE
VARIATIONS