SA23B-4073:
Polar Cap Heating of the Ionosphere and Thermosphere
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Cheryl Y Huang1, Yanshi Huang2, Yi-Jiun Su1, Eric K Sutton1, Marc R Hairston3 and William Robin Coley4, (1)Air Force Research Laboratory Albuquerque, Albuquerque, NM, United States, (2)University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States, (3)Univ of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States, (4)Univ. of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
Abstract:
We have previously suggested that the polar cap may be a source of missing energy required to account for the increased energy in the thermosphere during magnetic storms. We report on further instances of thermospheric energy increases during storms, almost always observed at high latitudes at all local times by GRACE and GOCE. We have analyzed the ion temperatures detected on DMSP F15, 16, 17 and 18 during these storms and find that the largest change in ion temperature also occurs at high latitudes, typically in the region of antisunward convection. Further, we find that ions in the polar cap are typically hotter than at auroral latitudes during quiet periods preceding storm activity. We suggest that energy enters the polar cap at all latitudes and local times under quiet as well as disturbed conditions.
