Conjugate Studies Using C/NOFS and All-sky Imagers in the American Sector

Abstract:

Data from the Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) and the Vector Electric Field Instrument (VEFI) onboard the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite are compared with 630.0 nm airglow data from all-sky imagers located outside the satellite’s orbital path. The comparison is done by mapping the trajectory coordinates along magnetic field lines to the peak emission height of the 630.0 nm airglow. We present a study of medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) in the American sector. Coincident variations in in-situ electric field and ion density, and ground-based airglow measurements show similar behavior, an indication that perturbations are occurring along the entire field line. The potential energy source region is investigated by computing Poynting fluxes. This study shows the importance of complementing remote sensing with in-situ observations of large scale structures at midlatitudes and that this type of comparison can provide insight at locations along a field line where no measurements are available.