Extremely High Latitude Auroras. Part I.
Abstract
The work under this contract had as its goal the time-dependent phenomenological modeling of the polar cap regions. The vehicle for modeling the caps has been to analyze the following collection of data: DMSP images showing polar cap auroras; DMSP electron measurements; hourly averages of the interplanetary magnetic field; ground magnetometer data from Thule; and magnetic indices. DMSP images for the winters of 1972-1973 and 1974-1975 provided consistently good records of the northern polar cap region and were used as the primary basis of the study. The DMSP images for these periods were traced and gridded in corrected geomagnetic coordinates and local geomagnetic time. The subset of cases for which auroras occur at above 80 degrees corrected geomagnetic latitude was identified and further categorized by local time interval of occurrence (morning, midnight, evening sectors). The occurrence of extremely high latitude aurora in each category was correlated with magnetic indices, magnetometer response at Thule, and solar wind parameters. The correlation of cap size as determined by poleward auroral boundaries, and the time variation of these with the above parameters was also made. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA074989
Entities
People
- M. Susan Gussenhoven
Organizations
- University of Rhode Island