极点热层密度变化特征及其受太阳风扇形结构调制

本文基于2002年至2010年的GRACE卫星的观测密度统计分析南北极点的热层大气密度的世界时（即磁地方时）变化.研究发现：在9—11月份地球处于行星际磁场为背向太阳的扇区内（背向扇区）时,南极点热层密度在约17∶00 UT（13∶30 MLT）达到最大值,比日平均值高约22%;而在6—8月份,当地球处于行星际磁场为面向太阳的扇区内（面向扇区）时,北极点热层密度在06∶00 UT（12∶30 MLT）达到最大值,比日平均值高约13%.南极点的磁纬是-74°,其在15∶30 UT处于磁地方时正午,恰与极尖区位置重合.北极点在5∶30 UT处于磁地方时正午,此时北极点与极尖区位置最靠近.因此,极点热层大气密度的磁地方时变化可能是其周期性靠近极尖区的结果.南北极点热层密度的磁地方时变化分别在背向和面向扇区内更明显,这可能与行星际磁场B_y分量对南北半球密度的不同影响有关.统计结果还表明,极点热层大气密度的磁地方时变化在冬季半球内不明显.这可能是由于在冬季半球,沉降于极尖区的粒子相比夏季半球少、沉降高度低,因而能量沉降所引起的热层上部的密度增强较小.     

地球内磁层场向电流的统计特征

利用ISEE－1和ISEE-2飞船观测的磁场数据，分析了地球内磁层场向电流的统计特征，包括场向电流的空间（L值和地方时）分布；流进和流出电离层的场向电流随地方时的变化；场向电流发生率与地磁活动水平（以AL指数表征）、行星际磁场（IMF）Bz的关系，电流强度和密度随地磁活动水平的变化等．发现，场向电流大都发生在夜间，且集中在L为6-10区域内，场向电流发生率，强度和密度随地磁活动增强而增大，行星际磁场南向时的发生率远远高于北向时的发生率．这些结果表明，内磁层场向电流的产生是太阳风和磁层、电离层间电动耦合增加的结果．     

东亚扇区中低纬地区电离层暴的统计分析

用1957~2006年间515个主相单步发展的磁暴事件,分析东亚扇区4个中低纬台站的电离层扰动类型及电离层暴开始时间,得到该地区电离层暴随纬度、季节和地方时的分布规律.研究表明,中纬区负暴明显,低纬区正暴明显;夏季负暴比正暴多,冬季正暴比负暴多,春秋季正负暴分布表现出明显的纬度差异.在东亚扇区,中纬区负暴开始时间主要分布在夜间及清晨时段,且在正午至午后时段极少发生.低纬区正暴开始时间主要发生在白天时段,且在夜间18~21 LT时段也易发生正暴.中低纬电离层正相暴平均延迟时间在10 h以内,负相暴平均延迟时间在10 h以上,且中纬区延迟时间明显比低纬区短.电离层暴延迟时间与磁暴主相开始时间对应的地方时很相关,正相暴对白天发生的磁暴比对晚上发生的磁暴响应快些,而负相暴正好相反.但电离层暴延迟时间与磁暴强度之间并没有十分明显的依赖关系.     

极区电离层对流速度的浅层神经网络建模与分析

电离层对流是太阳风与地球磁场相互作用下驱动的磁层大尺度对流循环与对流电场在极区电离层的映射,与行星际磁场-地球磁场耦合系统息息相关.本文基于SuperDARN(Super Dual Aurora Radar Network)分布在北半球的23部高频相干散射雷达获取到的二维电离层对流速度对其进行建模研究.模型输入为行星际...     

TC-1卫星在近地磁尾观测到的持续尾向流、等离子体片变薄和偶极化过程

2004年7月14日TC-1卫星在近地磁尾(-9.3Re,-5.4Re,1.2Re)附近观测到了伴随有持续尾向流的等离体片变薄和偶极化过程.尾向流持续时间为32分钟.偶极化过程中磁场By分量没有明显变化.在偶极化过程发生两分钟之后,地面台站观测到的Pi2脉动.ACE卫星的观测表明行星际磁场有弱的南向行星际磁场（-2nT）,持续时间约55分钟.Imagine卫星在电离层区域没有观测到极光出现.和伴随有极光增亮的亚暴过程相比,南向行星际磁场明显较弱,且持续时间短.TC-1卫星和ACE卫星的联合观测表明尾部释能有大有小,并非达到某值才能发生.但能量小时,不能够引起极光亚暴.其次南向行星际磁场有可能与近地磁尾尾向流有密切关系.     

2003年11月20日磁暴主相期间磁鞘的观测研究

2003年11月20日磁暴主相期间,Cluster卫星正好处在黄昏侧的磁鞘附近.在主相期间磁鞘磁场Bz分量大约为-60 nT,这和ACE卫星观测值基本一致.同时,磁鞘中的离子速度分布对磁鞘中的磁场方向有很强的依赖性.行星际电场Ey在磁鞘中大约是50 mV/m.磁鞘中这些极端的磁场,电场和离子的流动驱动了迄今23个太阳活动周期中最大的磁暴,其Dst指数是-472 nT.Cluster卫星观测发现磁鞘中离子的数密度比较低,这可能是由磁云经过地球时太阳风的低密度造成的.磁鞘中能量范围为1～10 keV的H+,He+和He2+的数密度主要是由磁鞘中太阳风的数密度决定的.同时,对磁鞘中存在大量的1～10 keV氧离子进行了讨论.在极端的南向行星际磁场条件下,磁层顶受到很强的压缩.氧离子可以利用较大的回旋半径,在强压缩的磁层顶和磁鞘对流的共同影响下进入磁鞘.这也表明了磁层对极端行星际条件的一种响应.Cluster卫星在11月20日磁暴事件中的观测研究,对进一步全面认识大磁暴事件有很重要的作用.     

基于行星际磁场阿尔芬特性的星载磁通门磁强计在轨标定新方法

准确的磁场测量对深入研究空间等离子体环境具有重要意义.星载磁通门磁强计的磁补偿随时间缓慢变化,因此,需要对其进行常规的在轨标定.现有的在轨标定方法都依赖于磁扰动或磁结构事件的筛选,导致标定结果的频次受限于事件的筛选,且差的事件还会增大计算误差.为此,本文研发出一种不依赖于磁场事件筛选的在轨标定新方法.根据行星际磁场强度的取值范围,我们可建构一个磁补偿取值空间.不同的磁补偿值会影响行星际磁场的阿尔芬特性;于是,我们通过在磁补偿空间中找到使被调整之后的行星际磁场的阿尔芬特性最强的点作为磁补偿值的最优解.测试结果表明,我们的新方法可以利用1～4 h时长的行星际磁场数据获得误差小于0.1 nT的标定结果.     

磁层电场引起的Sq“低点位移”

中低纬度地磁场Z分量S_q变化极小值出现的时刻常常被用作预报地震的前兆(即“低点位移”法)。本文指出一种能引起“低点位移”的非地震原因:——行星际磁场北向分量的变化引起磁层大尺度电场的变化;这个变化电场透过阿尔芬层,进入内磁层,并在电离层中形成一个特征的电流体系,使S_q电流体系发生畸变,电流涡的焦点发生位移,从而引起地面磁场Z分量极小值地方时的改变。这个过程所引起的“低点位移”有时可以超过1小时。所以在用“低点位移”法预报地震时,应该考虑行星际磁场的状态,排除非地震起因的磁异常。     

极隙区场向电流对高纬电离层电场和电流体系的影响

用Ｋａｍｉｄｅ－Ｍａｔｓｕｓｈｉｔａ方法，在行星际磁场具有较小的北向分量，且｜Ｂｙ｜＞＞｜Ｂｋ｜时，对磁语和磁扰状态以及Ｂｒ＞０和Ｂｙ＜０等不同情况，分别计算了场向电流引起的电离层电势、电场和电流体系．结果表明，极隙区场向电流的存在使高纬向日面区域的电势发生畸变，当Ｂｙ＞０时，无论是磁扰还是磁静日，极隙区电场具有显著的北向分量；等离子体对流有较大的西向分量；电离层电流为东向电流．当Ｂｙ＜０时，电场和等离子体对流的方向与Ｂｙ＞０时相反；电离层电流在磁抗日有西向分量，但在磁静日没有西向分量．电导率对电场和电流体系的影响十分明显，磁扰极光带电导率增强使电流涡从背阳面向向阳而漂移，与静日相比，磁扰时极隙区场向电流引起的电场畸变更为明显，但电场和电流强度的大小却基本保持不变．     

赤道电离异常特征参量地方时梯度的日变化特征——Swarm卫星观测

Swarm A/C卫星在460 km左右高度伴飞,地方时差异5.6 min,为赤道电离异常(Equatorial Ionization Anomaly,EIA)研究提供了一个绝好的观测机会.本文利用Swarm A/C卫星2014—2017年期间的电子密度观测数据,研究了地磁活动相对平静期EIA特征参量地方时梯度的日变化特征.分析发现:(1)EIA驼峰强度和位置的地方时梯度,ΔNe和Δβ,在正午前随地方时线性减小,午后达到极小值;傍晚前后,二者先增大后减小.该日变化特征在各季节具有普适性.(2)ΔNe和Δβ的日变化表现出紧密的相关性,且在白天和日落后两个时段内遵从明显不同的线性关系.(3)ΔNe和Δβ对赤道等离子体抬升通量地方时梯度,Δflux,的响应非常迅速,滞后时间约为1 h.     

Ionospheric convection during the magnetic storm of 20–21 March 1990

We report on the response of high-latitude ionospheric convection during the magnetic storm of March 20–21 1990. IMP-8 measurements of solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), ionospheric convection flow measurements from the Wick and Goose Bay coherent radars, EISCAT, Millstone Hill and Sondrestrom incoherent radars and three digisondes at Millstone Hill, Goose Bay and Qaanaaq are presented. Two intervals of particular interest have been identified. The first starts with a storm sudden commencement at 2243 UT on March 20 and includes the ionospheric activity in the following 7 h. The response time of the ionospheric convection to the southward turning of the IMF in the dusk to midnight local times is found to be approximately half that measured in a similar study at comparable local times during more normal solar wind conditions. Furthermore, this response time is the same as those previously measured on the dayside. An investigation of the expansion of the polar cap during a substorm growth phase based on Faraday’s law suggests that the expansion of the polar cap was nonuniform. A subsequent reconfiguration of the nightside convection pattern was also observed, although it was not possible to distinguish between effects due to possible changes in B_y and effects due to substorm activity. The second interval, 1200–2100 UT 21 March 1990, included a southward turning of the IMF which resulted in the B_z component becoming -10 nT. The response time on the dayside to this change in the IMF at the magnetopause was approximately 15 min to 30 min which is a factor of \sim2 greater than those previously measured at higher latitudes. A movement of the nightside flow reversal, possibly driven by current systems associated with the substorm expansion phases, was observed, implying that the nightside convection pattern can be dominated by substorm activity.     

Dayside convection and auroral morphology during an interval of northward interplanetary magnetic field

We investigate the dayside auroral dynamics and ionospheric convection during an interval when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) had predominantly a positive B_z component (northward IMF) but varying B_y. Polar UVI observations of the Northern Hemisphere auroral emission indicate the existence of a region of luminosity near local noon at latitudes poleward of the dayside auroral oval, which we interpret as the ionospheric footprint of a high-latitude reconnection site. The large field-of-view afforded by the satellite-borne imager allows an unprecedented determination of the dynamics of this region, which has not previously been possible with ground-based observations. The location of the emission in latitude and magnetic local time varies in response to changes in the orientation of the IMF; the cusp MLT and the IMF B_y component are especially well correlated, the emission being located in the pre- or post-noon sectors for B_y < 0 nT or B_y > 0 nT, respectively. Simultaneous ground-based observations of the ionospheric plasma drift are provided by the CUTLASS Finland HF coherent radar. For an interval of IMF B_y 0 nT, these convection flow measurements suggest the presence of a clockwise-rotating lobe cell contained within the pre-noon dayside polar cap, with a flow reversal closely co-located with the high-latitude luminosity region. This pattern is largely consistent with recent theoretical predictions of the convection flow during northward IMF. We believe that this represents the first direct measurement of the convection flow at the imaged location of the footprint of the high-latitude reconnection site.     

Ionospheric and geomagnetic responses to changes in IMF B z : a superposed epoch study

Superposed epoch studies have been carried out in order to determine the ionospheric response at mid-latitudes to southward turnings of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). This is compared with the geomagnetic response, as seen in the indices K_p, AE and Dst. The solar wind, IMF and geomagnetic data used were hourly averages from the years 1967–1989 and thus cover a full 22-year cycle in the solar magnetic field. These data were divided into subsets, determined by the magnitudes of the southward turnings and the concomitant increase in solar wind pressure. The superposed epoch studies were carried out using the time of the southward turning as time zero. The response of the mid-latitude ionosphere is studied by looking at the F-layer critical frequencies, f_oF2, from hourly soundings by the Slough ionosonde and their deviation from the monthly median values, f_oF2. For the southward turnings with a change in B_z of B_z > 11.5 nT accompanied by a solar wind dynamic pressure P exceeding 5 nPa, the F region critical frequency, f_oF2, shows a marked decrease, reaching a minimum value about 20 h after the southward turning. This recovers to pre-event values over the subsequent 24 h, on average. The Dst index shows the classic storm-time decrease to about –60 nT. Four days later, the index has still to fully recover and is at about –25 nT. Both the K_p and AE indices show rises before the southward turnings, when the IMF is strongly northward but the solar wind dynamic pressure is enhanced. The average AE index does register a clear isolated pulse (averaging 650 nT for 2 h, compared with a background peak level of near 450 nT at these times) showing enhanced energy deposition at high latitudes in substorms but, like K_p, remains somewhat enhanced for several days, even after the average IMF has returned to zero after 1 day. This AE background decays away over several days as the Dst index recovers, indicating that there is some contamination of the currents observed at the AE stations by the continuing enhanced equatorial ring current. For data averaged over all seasons, the critical frequencies are depressed at Slough by 1.3 MHz, which is close to the lower decile of the overall distribution of f_oFl values. Taking 30-day periods around summer and winter solstice, the largest depression is 1.6 and 1.2 MHz, respectively. This seasonal dependence is confirmed by a similar study for a Southern Hemisphere station, Argentine Island, giving peak depressions of 1.8 MHz and 0.5 MHz for summer and winter. For the subset of turnings where B_z > 11.5 nT and P 5 nPa, the response of the geomagnetic indices is similar but smaller, while the change in f_oF2 has all but disappeared. This confirms that the energy deposited at high latitudes, which leads to the geomagnetic and ionospheric disturbances following a southward turning of the IMF, increases with the energy density (dynamic pressure) of the solar wind flow. The magnitude of all responses are shown to depend on B_z. At Slough, the peak depression always occurs when Slough rotates into the noon sector. The largest ionospheric response is for southward turnings seen between 15–21 UT.     

Interplanetary magnetic field By control of dayside auroras

The effect of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) By component on the dayside auroral oval from Viking UV measurements for March–November 1986 is studied. Observations of dayside auroras from Viking UV images for large positive (15 cases) and negative (22 cases) IMF By (∣By∣>4 nT), suggest that: (1) the intensity of dayside auroras tends to increase for negative IMF By and to decrease for positive By, so that negative IMF By conditions seem preferable for observations of dayside auroras; (2) for negative IMF By, the auroral oval tends to be narrow and continuous throughout the noon meridian without any noon gap or any strong undulation in the auroral distribution. For positive IMF By, a sharp decrease and spreading of auroral activity is frequently observed in the post-noon sector, a strong undulation in the poleward boundary of the auroral oval around noon, and the formation of auroral forms poleward of the oval; and (3) the observed features of dayside auroras are in reasonable agreement with the expected distribution of upward field-aligned currents associated with the IMF By in the noon sector.     

The effects of IMF and convection on thermal ion outflow in magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

We study the influence of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and convection electric field on the rate and destination of polar wind and other thermal (low-energy) ion outflows, and its resulting effects on magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling, using single-particle trajectory simulations in conjunction with ion velocity distribution measurements on Akebono and IMF and ionospheric convection data. We find that the ions preferentially feed the dusk sector of the plasma sheet when the IMF is duskward (B_y>0), and are more evenly distributed in the plasma sheet when the IMF is dawnward. The flow of oxygen ions originating from the noon or dusk sectors of the polar cap has a higher probability of reaching the magnetosphere and beyond compared with that from the dawn or midnight sectors, due to the increased centrifugal acceleration associated with the larger magnetic field curvature near noon and the increased convection electric field in the dusk sector. The flow is enhanced and confined to lower L-shells at times of strongly southward IMF, compared with that at times of northward IMF. The outflow rate to both the plasma sheet and the magnetotail correlates strongly with the ion temperature. As a result, the IMF and the convection electric fields affect both the overall magnitude and the detailed distribution of mass transfer from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere in magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling.     

Interhemispheric observations of nightside ionospheric electric fields in response to IMF B z and B y changes and substorm pseudobreakup

HF radar data during equinoctial, small IMF B_y conditions have enabled the ionospheric convection during the substorm growth phase and substorm pseudobreakup to be studied in both hemispheres. This has revealed both conjugate and non-conjugate convection behaviour during the substorm growth phase before and after the pseudobreakup onset. The nightside convection pattern is found to respond promptly to the southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) which impacts on the dusk flank of the magnetosphere due to an inclined phase front in the IMF in the case study presented. The subsequent interhemispheric observations of nightside convection are controlled by the IMF B_y polarity. The time scale for the response to changes in the IMF B_y component is found to be a little longer than for B_z, and the full impact of the IMF B_y is not apparent in the nightside convection until after substorm pseudobreakup has occurred. The pseudobreakup itself is found to result in a transitory suppression in the ionospheric electric field in both hemispheres. This flow suppression is very similar to that observed in HF radar observations of full substorm onset, with the exception of a lack of subsequent poleward expansion.     

The coherence between the IMF and high-latitude ionospheric flows: The dayside magnetosphere–ionosphere low-pass filter

This study seeks to establish a new system characteristic describing dayside convective flows in the coupled magnetosphere–ionosphere: the low-pass filter function through which interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) fluctuations are processed as they are communicated from the magnetopause to the high-latitude ionosphere near local noon. In doing so, this study confirms that variations in the ionospheric flows at high-latitudes near local noon are well correlated with variations in the IMF orientation and magnitude on short timescales. We construct the filter function by comparing time series of the ionospheric equivalent flows at a fixed location at magnetic local noon and 80° latitude with time series of the IMF. The coherence spectra of these two parameters—averaged over 330 h of comparison—indicate that there is a low-pass cutoff in the ionospheric response to IMF driving at a periods shorter than 20 min (frequencies higher than 0.8 mHz). When there is sufficient power in the IMF fluctuations, this cutoff is relatively sharp—the coherence drops by roughly a factor of three between the periods 32 and 21 min (0.5 and 0.8 mHz). The results also show that on average the coherence between the east–west component of the equivalent flows and IMF B_y tends to be less than the coherence between the north–south component of the equivalent flows and IMF B_z.     

The ionospheric signature of transient dayside reconnection and the associated pulsed convection return flow

Three SuperDARN coherent HF radars are employed to investigate the excitation of convection in the dayside high-latitude ionosphere in response to transient reconnection occurring in the cusp region. This study demonstrates the existence of transient antisunward-propagating backscatter features at the expected location of the ionospheric footprint of the cusp region, which have a repetition rate near 10 min. These are interpreted as the ionospheric signature of flux transfer events. Moreover, transient sunward-propagating regions of backscatter are observed in the convection return flow regions of both the pre- and post-noon sectors. These patches are observed to propagate towards the noon sector from at least as far around the auroral zone as 07 MLT in the pre-noon sector and 17 MLT in the post-noon sector, travelling with a veloCity of approximately 1.5 to 2 km s⁻¹. These return flow patches have a repetition rate similar to that of the transient features observed at local noon. While providing supporting evidence for the impulsive nature of convection flow, the observation of sunward-propagating features in the return flow region is not consistent with current conceptual models of the excitation of convection.     

High-time resolution conjugate SuperDARN radar observations of the dayside convection response to changes in IMF B y

We present data from conjugate SuperDARN radars describing the high-latitude ionospheres response to changes in the direction of IMF B_y during a period of steady IMF B_z southward and B_x positive. During this interval, the radars were operating in a special mode which gave high-time resolution data (30 s sampling period) on three adjacent beams with a full scan every 3 min. The location of the radars around magnetic local noon at the time of the event allowed detailed observations of the variations in the ionospheric convection patterns close to the cusp region as IMF B_y varied. A significant time delay was observed in the ionospheric response to the IMF By changes between the two hemispheres. This is explained as being partially a consequence of the location of the dominant merging region on the magnetopause, which is 8/12R_E closer to the northern ionosphere than to the southern ionosphere (along the magnetic field line) due to the dipole tilt of the magnetosphere and the orientation of the IMF. This interpretation supports the anti-parallel merging hypothesis and highlights the importance of the IMF B_x component in solar wind-magnetosphere coupling.     

The response of the high-latitude ionosphere to IMF variations

The convection of plasma in the high-latitude ionosphere is strongly affected by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) carried by the solar wind. From numerous statistical studies, it is known that the plasma circulation conforms to patterns that are characteristic of particular IMF states. Following a change in the IMF, the convection responds by reconfiguring into a pattern that is more consistent with the new IMF. Some early studies reported that the convection first begins to change near noon while on the dawn and dusk flanks and on the nightside it remains relatively unaffected for tens of minutes. Work by Ridley et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 103 (1998) 4023–4039) and Ruohoniemi and Greenwald (Geophys. Res. Lett. 25 (1998) 2913–2916) that was based on measurements with more global sets of instruments challenged this view. A debate ensued as to the true nature of the convection response. We follow the arguments of Lockwood and Cowley (J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 4387–4391) and Ridley et al. (J. Geophys. Res. 104 (1999) 4393–4396) by reviewing recent results on the timing of the onset of the convection response to the changed IMF. We discuss the timing problem from the perspectives of observations and modeling. In our view, the onset of the ionospheric response to changed IMF is globally simultaneous on time scales of a few minutes. A physical basis for the rapid communication of effects in the dayside convection to the nightside has been demonstrated in magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We also offer some cautionary notes on the timing of convection changes and the use of global assimilative techniques to study local behavior.