Ionospheric Conductance During Substorms and Steady Magnetospheric Convection Events (SMCs)

Abstract:

We will investigate the differences in ionospheric conductance derived from empirical models and simulated by self-consistent ionosphere-thermosphere models, during both substorms and steady magnetospheric convection events. The Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model (GITM) will self-consistently calculate the integrated electron content and ionospheric conductance using different energy deposition models and data--such as Ovation, AMIE, and auroral images. We will calculate the average auroral energy deposition and auroral energy flux, using images from the ultraviolet imager (UVI) onboard the Polar spacecraft. From these images, we will use the Robinson empirical formula to calculate the conductance during these different events.

We will investigate the similarities and differences in the ionospheric conductance derived from the different methods and derived different event types.