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Zhang QH, Zhang YL, Wang C, Oksavik K, Lyons LR, Lockwood M, Yang HG, Tang BB, Moen JI, Xing ZY, Ma YZ, Wang XY, Ning YF, Xia LD. A space hurricane over the Earth's polar ionosphere. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1207. [PMID: 33619284 PMCID: PMC7900228 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21459-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
In Earth's low atmosphere, hurricanes are destructive due to their great size, strong spiral winds with shears, and intense rain/precipitation. However, disturbances resembling hurricanes have not been detected in Earth's upper atmosphere. Here, we report a long-lasting space hurricane in the polar ionosphere and magnetosphere during low solar and otherwise low geomagnetic activity. This hurricane shows strong circular horizontal plasma flow with shears, a nearly zero-flow center, and a coincident cyclone-shaped aurora caused by strong electron precipitation associated with intense upward magnetic field-aligned currents. Near the center, precipitating electrons were substantially accelerated to ~10 keV. The hurricane imparted large energy and momentum deposition into the ionosphere despite otherwise extremely quiet conditions. The observations and simulations reveal that the space hurricane is generated by steady high-latitude lobe magnetic reconnection and current continuity during a several hour period of northward interplanetary magnetic field and very low solar wind density and speed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing-He Zhang
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, PR China.
| | - Yong-Liang Zhang
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, USA
| | - Chi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Kjellmar Oksavik
- Birkeland Centre for Space Science, Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
- The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
| | - Larry R Lyons
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Hui-Gen Yang
- Ministry of Natural Resources Key Laboratory of Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, PR China
| | - Bin-Bin Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China
| | - Jøran Idar Moen
- The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway
- Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
| | - Zan-Yang Xing
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, PR China
| | - Yu-Zhang Ma
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, PR China
| | - Xiang-Yu Wang
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, PR China
| | - Ya-Fei Ning
- School of Microelectronic, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, PR China
| | - Li-Dong Xia
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, PR China
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Zhang QH, Zhang YL, Wang C, Lockwood M, Yang HG, Tang BB, Xing ZY, Oksavik K, Lyons LR, Ma YZ, Zong QG, Moen JI, Xia LD. Multiple transpolar auroral arcs reveal insight about coupling processes in the Earth's magnetotail. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:16193-16198. [PMID: 32601186 PMCID: PMC7368316 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2000614117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A distinct class of aurora, called transpolar auroral arc (TPA) (in some cases called "theta" aurora), appears in the extremely high-latitude ionosphere of the Earth when interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is northward. The formation and evolution of TPA offers clues about processes transferring energy and momentum from the solar wind to the magnetosphere and ionosphere during a northward IMF. However, their formation mechanisms remain poorly understood and controversial. We report a mechanism identified from multiple-instrument observations of unusually bright, multiple TPAs and simulations from a high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) global MagnetoHydroDynamics (MHD) model. The observations and simulations show an excellent agreement and reveal that these multiple TPAs are generated by precipitating energetic magnetospheric electrons within field-aligned current (FAC) sheets. These FAC sheets are generated by multiple-flow shear sheets in both the magnetospheric boundary produced by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability between supersonic solar wind flow and magnetosphere plasma, and the plasma sheet generated by the interactions between the enhanced earthward plasma flows from the distant tail (less than -100 RE) and the enhanced tailward flows from the near tail (about -20 RE). The study offers insight into the complex solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes under a northward IMF condition, and it challenges existing paradigms of the dynamics of the Earth's magnetosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing-He Zhang
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China;
| | - Yong-Liang Zhang
- The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723
| | - Chi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Michael Lockwood
- Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6BB, United Kingdom
| | - Hui-Gen Yang
- Ministry of Natural Resources Key Laboratory of Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, 200136, China
| | - Bin-Bin Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Center for Space Science and Applied Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zan-Yang Xing
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China
| | - Kjellmar Oksavik
- Department of Physics and Technology, Birkeland Centre for Space Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, N-5020, Norway
- Arctic Geophysics Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, N-9171, Norway
| | - Larry R Lyons
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Yu-Zhang Ma
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China
| | - Qiu-Gang Zong
- School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jøran Idar Moen
- Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo 0371, Norway
- Arctic Geophysics Department, The University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, N-9171, Norway
| | - Li-Dong Xia
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Astronomy and Solar-Terrestrial Environment, Institute of Space Sciences, Shandong University, Weihai, Shandong, 264209, China
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