HR: 11:30h
AN: SM51D-05    [PDF]
TI: Does the IMF High Latitude Convection?
AU: * Greenwald, R A
EM: ray.greenwald@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 21784 United States
AU: Ruohoniemi, J M
EM: mike.ruohoniemi@jhuapl.edu
AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 21784 United States
AB: One of the paradigms of present day magnetospheric physics is that the interplanetary magnetic field at the dayside magnetopause controls the shape of the high-latitude convection pattern and the magnitude of the cross polar cap potential. From this viewpoint, IMF-derived statistical models of high-latitude convection can readily be used to carry out studies of plasma transport and evolution in both the ionosphere and magnetosphere. While there appears to be underlying structure to the convection patterns that is well represented by IMF orientation, studies being carried out with the SuperDARN radar network indicate that the IMF magnitude and orientation does not provide a good measure of the instantaneous cross polar cap potential. Rather the cross polar cap potential exhibits sharp transient increases in a manner discussed by Lockwood and Cowley in the early 1990s. The effects are most apparent in the vicinity of the cusp, but can be observed at other local times. Transient latitudianlly-confined regions of strong convection are the most obvious feature of these potential enhancements. In this paper, we present examples of this phenomena as observed with SuperDARN and discuss its implications.
DE: 2411 Electric fields (2712)
DE: 2712 Electric fields (2411)
DE: 2724 Magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers
DE: 2784 Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
SC: SPA - Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting