SuperDARN E-region backscatter boundary in the dusk-midnight sector – tracer of equatorward boundary of the auroral oval
We compare the locations of the equatorward boundaries of SuperDARN E-region backscatter and H<font face="Symbol"><sub>b</sub></font> emissions, focusing on the dusk-midnight sector of the auroral oval where the proton aurora is statistically located...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2002-12-01
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| Series: | Annales Geophysicae |
| Online Access: | https://www.ann-geophys.net/20/1899/2002/angeo-20-1899-2002.pdf |
| Summary: | We compare the locations
of the equatorward boundaries of SuperDARN E-region backscatter and H<font face="Symbol"><sub>b</sub></font>
emissions, focusing on the dusk-midnight sector of the auroral oval where the
proton aurora is statistically located equatorward of the discrete electron
aurora. We show that, whenever both boundaries can be simultaneously
identified, they are coincident. Our result complements earlier studies, which
demonstrated the correspondence between the DMSP b2i boundary and both the
equatorward boundary of the proton auroral oval (Donovan et al., 2002), and the
equatorward boundary of SuperDARN E-region echoes (Jayachandran et al., 2002).
Further, our result shows that, provided there is sufficient precipitating
proton energy flux, the SuperDARN radars can be used to monitor the equatorward
edge of the proton auroral oval.<br><br><b>Key words. </b>Ionosphere (auroral
ionosphere; particle precipitation; ionospheric irregularities) |
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| ISSN: | 0992-7689 1432-0576 |