Average field-aligned current configuration parameterized by solar wind conditions

Carter, J.A. and Milan, S.E. and Coxon, J. C. and Walach, M. T. and Anderson, B.J. (2016) Average field-aligned current configuration parameterized by solar wind conditions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 121 (2). pp. 1294-1307. ISSN 2169-9402

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Abstract

©2016. The Authors. We present the first large-scale comparison of the spatial distribution of field-aligned currents as measured by the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment, with the location and brightness of the average auroral oval, determined from the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration far ultraviolet instrument. These distributions are compared under the same interplanetary magnetic field magnitude and clock angle conditions. The field-aligned currents and auroral oval drop to lower latitudes, as the interplanetary magnetic field becomes both increasingly stronger in magnitude and increasingly southward. We find that the region 2 currents are more closely aligned with the distribution of auroral UV emission, whether that be in the discrete auroral zone about dusk or in the postmidnight diffuse aurora sector. The lack of coincidence between the region 1 field-aligned currents with the auroral oval in the dusk sector is contrary to expectation.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Additional Information:
©2016. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Subjects:
?? AURORAL OVALFIELD-ALIGNED CURRENTS ??
ID Code:
86237
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
08 May 2017 15:00
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
18 Sep 2023 01:11