SM51I-08:
Dependencies of Auroral Electron Precipitation Characteristics on Ionospheric Conductivity Conditions and Examples of Measurements of Ionospheric Pederson Conductivity and Wave and Electron Energy Reflectivity from FAST Satellite Data
Friday, 19 December 2014: 9:45 AM
John Paul Dombeck1, Andres Campos1, Cynthia A Cattell1, Nitin Prasad1, Elizabeth Hanson2, James P McFadden2 and Robert J Strangeway3, (1)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (2)University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States, (3)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Abstract:
Understanding the details and energetics of Magnetospheric-Ionospheric (M-I) coupling is one of the long-standing and fundamental challenges in geospace science. Auroral precipitation mechanisms play a primary role in these processes. They both affect and are affected by ionospheric conductivity. The FAST satellite mission was specifically designed to study these auroral processes in detail. In addition to the results of statistical analysis of electron precipitation characteristics of ~13 years of FAST data for various conductivity conditions (solar luminosity of either or both hemispheres, F10.7), we present examples of FAST remote sensing capabilities of the ionosphere itself and M-I interface interactions (i.e. reflectivity and/or backscatter). In particular, we present measurements of the ionospheric Pederson conductivity and the reflectivity of both wave and particle energy for examples of the various precipitation mechanisms. For the statistical portion we present the results of analysis of the ionospheric input characteristics (occurrence, electron energy and number flux, etc.) for quasi-static (inverted-v) and/or Alfvénic acceleration and/or intense diffuse auroral electron precipitation with an emphasis on relations to conductivity conditions and the relationships between net- and downward- energy flux for ionospheric energy input.
