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Bythrow et al. 1994
Bythrow, P.F., Anderson, B.J., Potemra, T.A., Zanetti, L.J., Winningham, J.D. and Chenette, D.L. (1994). Filamentary current structures in the postnoon sector: Observations from UARS. Journal of Geophysical Research 99: doi: 10.1029/93JA03472. issn: 0148-0227.

During an intense geomagnetic storm (Kp 7+) that began at ~1830 UT on October 1, 1991, the UARS satellite encountered the dayside postnoon auroral oval. On two consecutive crossings of the northern hemisphere between 2040 and 2240 UT, the vector magnetometer detected region 1 and 2 Birkeland and ionospheric currents in the postnoon sector. Low-energy electron events were observed near 1400 MLT within a narrow portion of the region 1 current system. Simultaneous magnetic field measurements revealed the presence of intense (~20 &mgr;A/m2) bipolar filament current structures embedded in the auroral oval. The upward-directed currents were associated with the more concentrated region of precipitating electrons. Ions associated with the more intense flux of low-energy electrons exhibited a dispersion signature typical of an ion velocity filter. The dispersion, aligned along the orbit, exhibited higher-energy ions at low latitudes and earlier local times. The colocation of filament currents and ion dispersion signatures at such late postnoon local times is not consistent with typical E¿B ''cusp'' dispersions. These features more likely result from dayside boundary wave phenomena.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Magnetospheric Physics, Auroral phenomena, Magnetospheric Physics, Current systems, Magnetospheric Physics, Magnetopause, cusp, and boundary layers, Space Plasma Physics, Wave-particle interactions
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
http://www.agu.org/journals/jb/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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