Bibliography

The Dynamics of the Alfvénic Oval

The auroral oval is a well-established concept, introduced more than five decades ago. The Alfvénic oval, on the other hand, is a very recent concept, which has been revealed in both observational and numerical studies. This is the first review of the global Alfvénic oval, while also defining primary, secondary and tertiary layers of the Alfvénic oval. The focus lies on the large-scale dynamic properties of the global Alfvénic oval in relation to the AE index, substorm phases, storm phases and solar wind/IMF conditions. Statistical data recorded above and below the nominal auroral acceleration region are reviewed, together with results from global simulation studies. The Alfvénic oval s relation to the auroral oval is also reviewed. This review demonstrates that the Alfvénic oval is well enough defined and investigated to give it its name, and it demonstrates that our understanding allows for the prediction of the Alfvénic oval under various conditions.

Keiling, Andreas;

Published by: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics      Published on: aug

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2021.105616

AURORA; Alfven wave; Energy transport; geomagnetic activity; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; Wave-particle interaction

Global Effects of a Polar Solar Eclipse on the Coupled Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System

It is well-known that solar eclipses can significantly impact the ionosphere and thermosphere, but how an eclipse influences the magnetosphere-ionosphere system is still unknown. Using a coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere model, we examined the impact on geospace of the northern polar-region eclipse that occurred on June 10, 2021. The simulations reveal that the eclipse-induced reduction in polar ionospheric conductivity causes large changes in field-aligned current, cross-polar cap potential and auroral activity. While such effects are expected in the northern hemisphere where solar obscuration occurred, they also occurred in the southern hemisphere through electrodynamic coupling. Eclipse-induced changes in monoenergetic auroral precipitation differ significantly between the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere while diffuse auroral precipitation is interhemispherically symmetric. This study demonstrates that the geospace response to a polar-region solar eclipse is not limited just to the eclipse region but has global implications.

Chen, Xuetao; Dang, Tong; Zhang, Binzheng; Lotko, William; Pham, Kevin; Wang, Wenbin; Lin, Dong; Sorathia, Kareem; Merkin, Viacheslav; Luan, Xiaoli; Dou, Xiankang; Luo, Bingxian; Lei, Jiuhou;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2021GL096471

auroral activity; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; polar solar eclipse

Toward a Next Generation Particle Precipitation Model: Mesoscale Prediction Through Machine Learning (a Case Study and Framework for Progress)

We advance the modeling capability of electron particle precipitation from the magnetosphere to the ionosphere through a new database and use of machine learning (ML) tools to gain utility from those data. We have compiled, curated, analyzed, and made available a new and more capable database of particle precipitation data that includes 51 satellite years of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) observations temporally aligned with solar wind and geomagnetic activity data. The new total electron energy flux particle precipitation nowcast model, a neural network called PrecipNet, takes advantage of increased expressive power afforded by ML approaches to appropriately utilize diverse information from the solar wind and geomagnetic activity and, importantly, their time histories. With a more capable representation of the organizing parameters and the target electron energy flux observations, PrecipNet achieves a \textgreater50\% reduction in errors from a current state-of-the-art model oval variation, assessment, tracking, intensity, and online nowcasting (OVATION Prime), better captures the dynamic changes of the auroral flux, and provides evidence that it can capably reconstruct mesoscale phenomena. We create and apply a new framework for space weather model evaluation that culminates previous guidance from across the solar-terrestrial research community. The research approach and results are representative of the “new frontier” of space weather research at the intersection of traditional and data science-driven discovery and provides a foundation for future efforts.

McGranaghan, Ryan; Ziegler, Jack; Bloch, Téo; Hatch, Spencer; Camporeale, Enrico; Lynch, Kristina; Owens, Mathew; Gjerloev, Jesper; Zhang, Binzheng; Skone, Susan;

Published by: Space Weather      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2020SW002684

space weather; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; data science; evaluation; machine learning; particle precipitation

Explicit IMF By-Dependence in Geomagnetic Activity: Quantifying Ionospheric Electrodynamics

Geomagnetic activity is mainly driven by the southward (Bz) component of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), which dominates all solar wind coupling functions. Coupling functions also depend on the absolute value of the dawn-dusk (By) component of the IMF, but not on its sign. However, recent studies have shown that for a fixed level of solar wind driving, auroral electrojets in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) are stronger for By \textgreater 0 than for By \textless 0 during NH winter. In NH summer, the dependence on the By sign is reversed. While this By sign dependence, also called the explicit By-dependence, is very strong in the winter hemisphere, it is weak in the summer hemisphere. Moreover, the explicit By-dependence is much stronger in the westward electrojet than in the eastward electrojet. In this study, we study how the explicit IMF By-dependence is coupled with large-scale field-aligned currents (FACs) by using FAC measurements from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment and an empirical ionospheric conductance model. We model the complete ionospheric electrodynamics by solving the current continuity equation, and show that during periods of elevated solar wind driving (Bz \textless 0), the IMF By component modulates Regions 1 and 2 FACs in the dawn sector of the winter hemisphere. This leads to an explicit By-dependence in ionospheric conductance and the westward electrojet. We also show that the By-dependence of FACs and conductance is weak in the dusk sector, which explains the earlier observation of the weak By-dependence of the eastward electrojet.

Holappa, L.; Robinson, R.; Pulkkinen, A.; Asikainen, T.; Mursula, K.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2021JA029202

space weather; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; field-aligned currents; geomagnetic activity

Extreme Positive Ionosphere Storm Triggered by a Minor Magnetic Storm in Deep Solar Minimum Revealed by FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 and GNSS Observations

This study examines an unexpected and extreme positive ionospheric response to a minor magnetic storm on August 5, 2019 by using global ionosphere specification (GIS) 3D electron density profiles obtained by assimilating radio occultation total electron content (TEC) measurements of the recently launched FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 satellites, and ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) TEC. The results reveal ∼300\% enhancement of equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crests, appearing over 200–300 km altitudes, and a much intense localized density enhancement over the European sector. These are the most intense ionospheric response that has ever been detected for a small magnetic storm with Dst ∼ −53 nT (SYM-H ∼ −64 nT). The enhancements are validated by using global ionosphere map (GIM) TEC and ground-based GNSS TEC. The GIS vertical electron density structures during the storm are examined to understand the physical processes giving rise to such an intense ionosphere response during deep solar minimum conditions when the background electron density is very low. Altitude variations and poleward shifts of the locations of the EIA crests indicate that prompt penetration electric fields (PPEF) play an important role in producing the observed positive storm responses, with the storm-induced equatorward circulation supporting the plasma accumulation against recombination losses. Additional physical mechanisms are required to fully explain the unexpected electron density enhancements for this minor storm event.

Rajesh, P.; Lin, C.; . Y. Lin, C; Chen, C.; . Y. Liu, J; Matsuo, T.; Chen, S.; Yeh, W.; . Y. Huang, C;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2020JA028261

FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2; Global Ionospheric Specification; ionospheric data assimilation; ionospheric response to magnetic storm; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; minor magnetic storm

Transpolar arc observation after solar wind entry into the high-latitude magnetosphere

Recently, Cluster observations have revealed the presence of new regions of solar wind plasma entry at the high-latitude magnetospheric lobes tailward of the cusp region, mostly during periods of northward interplanetary magnetic field. In this study, observations from the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) experiment on board the TIMED spacecraft and Wideband Imaging Camera imager on board the IMAGE satellite are used to investigate a possible link between solar wind entry and the formation of transpolar arcs in the polar cap. We focus on a case when transpolar arc formation was observed twice right after the two solar wind entry events were detected by the Cluster spacecraft. In addition, GUVI and IMAGE observations show a simultaneous occurrence of auroral activity at low and high latitudes after the second entry event, possibly indicating a two-part structure of the continuous band of the transpolar arc.

Mailyan, B.; Shi, Q.; Kullen, A.; Maggiolo, R.; Zhang, Y.; Fear, R.; Zong, Q.-G.; Fu, S; Gou, X.; Cao, X.; Yao, Z.; Sun, W.; Wei, Y.; Pu, Z;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 05/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020912

magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling; transpolar arcs; in situ measurements

Electron precipitation models in global magnetosphere simulations

General methods for improving the specification of electron precipitation in global simulations are described and implemented in the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry (LFM) global simulation model, and the quality of its predictions for precipitation is assessed. LFM\textquoterights existing diffuse and monoenergetic electron precipitation models are improved, and new models are developed for lower energy, broadband, and direct-entry cusp precipitation. The LFM simulation results for combined diffuse plus monoenergetic electron precipitation exhibit a quadratic increase in the hemispheric precipitation power as the intensity of solar wind driving increases, in contrast with the prediction from the OVATION Prime (OP) 2010 empirical precipitation model which increases linearly with driving intensity. Broadband precipitation power increases approximately linearly with driving intensity in both models. Comparisons of LFM and OP predictions with estimates of precipitating power derived from inversions of Polar satellite UVI images during a double substorm event (28\textendash29 March 1998) show that the LFM peak precipitating power is \>4\texttimes larger when using the improved precipitation model and most closely tracks the larger of three different inversion estimates. The OP prediction most closely tracks the double peaks in the intermediate inversion estimate, but it overestimates the precipitating power between the two substorms by a factor \>2 relative to all other estimates. LFMs polar pattern of precipitating energy flux tracks that of OP for broadband precipitation exhibits good correlation with duskside region 1 currents for monoenergetic energy flux that OP misses and fails to produce sufficient diffuse precipitation power in the prenoon quadrant that is present in OP. The prenoon deficiency is most likely due to the absence of drift kinetic physics in the LFM simulation.

Zhang, B.; Lotko, W.; Brambles, O.; Wiltberger, M.; Lyon, J.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 02/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020615

electron precipitation; global magnetosphere simulation; magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling