SPA31A:
The Physics of the Aurora I

Submit an Abstract to this Session

Session ID#: 6833

Session Description:
The aurora is perhaps the most visible and notable consequence of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. Recent years have seen tremendous advances in our  understanding of the physics of the aurora, with for example widely accepted explanations of Alfvenic aurora near the open-closed boundary and patchy pulsating aurora, but significant challenges remain. Perhaps the greatest of these relate to the auroral arc, an essentially ubiquitous phenomenon for which we have several theories but as yet no accepted explanation. This session will highlight recent observations and theories related to auroral electrodynamics, with a focus on recent ground-based and in situ measurements afforded by new extensive networks of imagers, radars and magnetometers, and contemporaneous in situ observations from low- (e.g. Swarm) and high- (e.g., THEMIS) altitude satellites.
OSPA Liaison:  Emma Spanswick, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Chairs:  David J Knudsen, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada and Eric Donovan, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Primary Convener:  Eric Donovan, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Conveners:  David J Knudsen, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, Robert Rankin, University of Alberta, Physics, Edmonton, AB, Canada and Martin G Connors, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB, Canada
Index Terms:

2407 Auroral ionosphere [IONOSPHERE]
2411 Electric fields [IONOSPHERE]
2451 Particle acceleration [IONOSPHERE]
2704 Auroral phenomena [MAGNETOSPHERIC PHYSICS]

Abstracts Submitted to this Session:

SPA31A-01
Probing Ionosphere-Magnetosphere coupling with the combination of in-situ and ground based measurements: the GREECE mission (Invited) (34701)
Marilia Samara1, Robert Michell1,2, Guy Alan Grubbs II3, Donald L Hampton4, John W Bonnell5 and Keiichi Ogasawara3, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (2)University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States, (3)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, United States, (4)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (5)University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
SPA31A-02
Relativistic electron precipitation and substorm auroras (Invited) (36552)
Joshua L Semeter, Boston Univ, Boston, United States
SPA31A-03
Electrodynamic Coupling Between Inertial Scale Alfven Waves and the High-latitude Auroral Ionosphere (Invited) (35370)
Dmytro Sydorenko, University of Alberta, Department of Physics, Edmonton, AB, Canada
SPA31A-04
Small-scale secondary electron features and FACs in diffuse and pulsating aurora (Invited) (35855)
Sarah Jones1, Marc Lessard2, Leroy Cogger3, Andrew W Yau3, David J Knudsen3, Kristina A Lynch4, Dirk Lummerzheim5, Hans Stenbaek-Nielsen5 and Allison N Jaynes6, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (2)University of New Hampshire Main Campus, Durham, NH, United States, (3)University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, (4)Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States, (5)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (6)University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
SPA31A-05
Correlated ULF Waves, Whistler-mode Chorus and Pulsating Aurora Observed by the Van Allen Probes and Ground-based Systems (35354)
Allison N Jaynes1, Marc Lessard2, Kazue Takahashi3, Ashar Ali4, David Malaspina5, Craig Kletzing6, John R Wygant7, Eric Donovan8, J Bernard Blake9, Robert Michell10,11, Marilia Samara11 and Emma Spanswick8, (1)University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States, (2)University of New Hampshire Main Campus, Durham, NH, United States, (3)Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Laurel, MD, United States, (4)University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States, (5)University of Colorado, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department, Boulder, United States, (6)University of Iowa, Physics and Astronomy, Iowa City, United States, (7)University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, United States, (8)University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, (9)Aerospace Corporation Santa Monica, Santa Monica, CA, United States, (10)University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States, (11)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
SPA31A-06
Dynamics of auroral particle acceleration by kinetic Alfvén waves (35679)
Robert L Lysak, University of Minnesota, School of Physics and Astronomy, Minneapolis, United States
SPA31A-07
New Features of Substorm and Storm Dynamics Revealed by Coordinated ISR-ASI Measurements of Auroral Dynamics (34572)
Larry R Lyons1, Yukitoshi Nishimura2, Donald Hampton3, Vassilis Angelopoulos4, Eric Donovan5, Michael J Nicolls6 and Steven Chen6, (1)University of California Los Angeles, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (2)University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (3)University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, AK, United States, (4)University of California Los Angeles, Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (5)University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada, (6)SRI International Menlo Park, Menlo Park, CA, United States
SPA31A-08
Ion Temperature Anisotropy Measured in Regions of Strong Electric Fields Adjacent to Auroral Arcs (35211)
William Edward Archer1, David J Knudsen2, Johnathan K Burchill2, Matthew Patrick2 and Jean-Pierre St-Maurice1, (1)University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada, (2)University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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