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Kataoka R, Chaston CC, Knudsen D, Lynch KA, Lysak RL, Song Y, Rankin R, Murase K, Sakanoi T, Semeter J, Watanabe TH, Whiter D. Small-Scale Dynamic Aurora. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2021; 217:17. [PMID: 34720215 PMCID: PMC8550089 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-021-00796-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Small-scale dynamic auroras have spatial scales of a few km or less, and temporal scales of a few seconds or less, which visualize the complex interplay among charged particles, Alfvén waves, and plasma instabilities working in the magnetosphere-ionosphere coupled regions. We summarize the observed properties of flickering auroras, vortex motions, and filamentary structures. We also summarize the development of fundamental theories, such as dispersive Alfvén waves (DAWs), plasma instabilities in the auroral acceleration region, ionospheric feedback instabilities (IFI), and the ionospheric Alfvén resonator (IAR). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11214-021-00796-w.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryuho Kataoka
- National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 185-0031 Japan
- SOKENDAI, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 185-0031 Japan
| | | | - David Knudsen
- Dept of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 Canada
| | - Kristina A. Lynch
- Dept of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 USA
| | - Robert L. Lysak
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Yan Song
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Robert Rankin
- Physics & Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ Southampton, UK
| | - Kiyoka Murase
- SOKENDAI, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 185-0031 Japan
| | - Takeshi Sakanoi
- Planetary Plasma and Atmospheric Research Center, Aramaki-aza-Aoba 6-3, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578 Japan
| | - Joshua Semeter
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA USA
| | | | - Daniel Whiter
- Physics & Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ Southampton, UK
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Fletcher LN, de Pater I, Orton GS, Hofstadter MD, Irwin PGJ, Roman MT, Toledo D. Ice Giant Circulation Patterns: Implications for Atmospheric Probes. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS 2020. [PMID: 32165773 DOI: 10.1007/s11214-019-0619-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Atmospheric circulation patterns derived from multi-spectral remote sensing can serve as a guide for choosing a suitable entry location for a future in situ probe mission to the Ice Giants. Since the Voyager-2 flybys in the 1980s, three decades of observations from ground- and space-based observatories have generated a picture of Ice Giant circulation that is complex, perplexing, and altogether unlike that seen on the Gas Giants. This review seeks to reconcile the various competing circulation patterns from an observational perspective, accounting for spatially-resolved measurements of: zonal albedo contrasts and banded appearances; cloud-tracked zonal winds; temperature and para-H2 measurements above the condensate clouds; and equator-to-pole contrasts in condensable volatiles (methane, ammonia, and hydrogen sulphide) in the deeper troposphere. These observations identify three distinct latitude domains: an equatorial domain of deep upwelling and upper-tropospheric subsidence, potentially bounded by peaks in the retrograde zonal jet and analogous to Jovian cyclonic belts; a mid-latitude transitional domain of upper-tropospheric upwelling, vigorous cloud activity, analogous to Jovian anticyclonic zones; and a polar domain of strong subsidence, volatile depletion, and small-scale (and potentially seasonally-variable) convective activity. Taken together, the multi-wavelength observations suggest a tiered structure of stacked circulation cells (at least two in the troposphere and one in the stratosphere), potentially separated in the vertical by (i) strong molecular weight gradients associated with cloud condensation, and by (ii) transitions from a thermally-direct circulation regime at depth to a wave- and radiative-driven circulation regime at high altitude. The inferred circulation can be tested in the coming decade by 3D numerical simulations of the atmosphere, and by observations from future world-class facilities. The carrier spacecraft for any probe entry mission must ultimately carry a suite of remote-sensing instruments capable of fully constraining the atmospheric motions at the probe descent location.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leigh N Fletcher
- 1School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH UK
| | - Imke de Pater
- 3Department of Astronomy, University of California, 501 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Glenn S Orton
- 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
| | - Mark D Hofstadter
- 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
| | - Patrick G J Irwin
- 4Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU UK
| | - Michael T Roman
- 1School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH UK
| | - Daniel Toledo
- 4Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU UK
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Johnson JR, Wing S. The dependence of the strength and thickness of field-aligned currents on solar wind and ionospheric parameters. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. SPACE PHYSICS 2015; 120:3987-4008. [PMID: 29057194 PMCID: PMC5647790 DOI: 10.1002/2014ja020312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Sheared plasma flows at the low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) correlate well with early afternoon auroral arcs and upward field-aligned currents. We present a simple analytic model that relates solar wind and ionospheric parameters to the strength and thickness of field-aligned currents (Λ) in a region of sheared velocity, such as the LLBL. We compare the predictions of the model with DMSP observations and find remarkably good scaling of the upward region 1 currents with solar wind and ionospheric parameters in region located at the boundary layer or open field lines at 1100-1700 magnetic local time. We demonstrate that [Formula: see text] and Λ ~ L when Λ/L < 5 where L is the auroral electrostatic scale length. The sheared boundary layer thickness (Δ m ) is inferred to be around 3000 km, which appears to have weak dependence on Vsw. J‖ has dependencies on Δ m , Σ p , nsw, and Vsw. The analytic model provides a simple way to organize data and to infer boundary layer structures from ionospheric data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jay R Johnson
- Princeton Center for Heliophysics, Princeton University, Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Simon Wing
- Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA
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Treumann RA, LaBelle J, Pottelette R. Plasma diffusion at the magnetopause: The case of lower hybrid drift waves. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/91ja01671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Wei CQ, Lee LC. Coupling of magnetopause-boundary layer to the polar ionosphere. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/92ja02232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Rothwell PL, Silevitch MB, Block LP, Fälthammar CG. Prebreakup arcs: A comparison between theory and experiment. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/91ja01268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Kinney RM, Coroniti FV, McWilliams JC, Pritchett PL. Mechanisms for discrete auroral arc breakup by nonlinear Alfvén wave interaction. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1999. [DOI: 10.1029/1999ja900233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Stauning P. Substorm modeling based on observations of an intense high-latitude absorption surge event. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1998. [DOI: 10.1029/97ja03596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Peymirat C, Fontaine D. Numerical simulation of magnetospheric convection including the effect of field-aligned currents and electron precipitation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1994. [DOI: 10.1029/93ja02546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Drakou E, Sonnerup BUÖ, Lotko W. Self-consistent steady state model of the low-latitude boundary layer. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1994. [DOI: 10.1029/93ja02094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Interaction of solar wind with the magnetopause-boundary layer and generation of magnetic impulse events. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1993. [DOI: 10.1016/0021-9169(93)90090-l] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Atkinson G. Mechanism by which merging at X lines causes discrete auroral arcs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1992. [DOI: 10.1029/91ja02443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Miura A. Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetospheric boundary: Dependence on the magnetosheath sonic Mach number. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1992. [DOI: 10.1029/92ja00791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Siscoe G, Maynard N. Distributed two-dimensional region 1 and Region 2 currents: Model results and data comparisons. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1029/91ja02369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Siscoe GL, Lotko W, Sonnerup BUÖ. A high-latitude, low-latitude boundary layer model of the convection current system. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1029/90ja02362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Lotko W, Shen MM. On large-scale rotational motions and energetics of auroral shear layers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1029/91ja00446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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