FTE driven dynamics of the F-region cusp ionosphere

Abstract:

The major dynamics of the cusp and the dayside polar cap ionosphere result from the solar wind interactions with the dayside magnetopause. It is well documented that transient reconnection facilitates most of the energy extraction from the solar wind to the dayside magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Therefore the forcing of the cusp ionosphere is pulsed. The IMF By controlled east-west movement of poleward moving forms (PMAFs) separating from the cusp is consistent with the magnetic tension pull of newly opened flux, which is a key feature tying the auroral phenomenon of PMAFs to flux transfer events (FTEs) at the magnetopause. The central region of an FTE is a mesoscale flow channel, bounded by a pair of Birkeland current sheets on each flank. Combined ground-based and in-situ measurements of FTE dynamics above Svalbard have provided us new in-sights about reconnection type space weather effects in the F-region ionosphere related to FTE flow channel/precipitation events. In this presentation we will focus on FTE impacts on i) ion upflow events and ii) F-region plasma instabilities.