HR: 1340h
AN: SA23A-0389    [Abstracts]
TI: Joule Heating in Small-Scale Aurora: Modeling
AU: * Styers, J M
EM: fsjms@uaf.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 757320 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Otto, A
EM: ao@how.gi.alaska.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 757320 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Lummerzheim, D
EM: dirk@gi.alaska.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 757320 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Bristow, B
AF: Geophysical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 757320 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AU: Lanchester, B
AF: Solar Terrestrial Physics Group School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ United Kingdom
AB: The coupling between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere is of major importance for the thermospheric and magnetospheric dynamics. Small-scale large magnitude electric fields associated with aurora can generate considerable Joule heating which is not present on large scale temporal and spatial averages. Presented is a simulation model which considers localized parallel electric fields as a source for discrete auroral dynamics. The evolution produces large electric field in the immediate vicinity of field-aligned current layers. We will discuss properties of the dynamics depending on ionospheric conditions. The Joule heating is determined over several scale averages. It is shown that as the scale averages are increased, a progressively lower value is obtained for the total Joule heating. This represents a mismeasurement.
DE: 2407 Auroral ionosphere (2704)
DE: 2431 Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions (2736)
DE: 2753 Numerical modeling
DE: 0310 Airglow and aurora
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting