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Mende et al. 1988
Mende, S.B., Doolittle, J.H., Robinson, R.M., Vondrak, R.R. and Rich, F.J. (1988). Plasma drifts associated with a system of sun-aligned arcs in the polar cap. Journal of Geophysical Research 93: doi: 10.1029/88JA01023. issn: 0148-0227.

A series of four sun-aligned arcs passed over Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland, on the night of the 17th and 18th of February, 1985. Observations of these arcs were made using the Sondrestrom incoherent scatter radar and an intensified all-sky imaging TV system that was operated at the radar site. The first of the four arcs crossed the Sondre Stromfjord meridian just before local midnight moving westward, and the other three arcs followed at approximately half-hour intervals. When we account for the earth's rotation, the arc drift in an inertial frame was eastward, or dusk to dawn. The half-hour interval between meridian crossings of the arcs implies that the mean spacing between the arcs was 180 km. A Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F6 satellite pass at 0110 UT revealed the presence of highly structured electron and ion precipitation throughout the polar cap. The DMSP visible imager detected a single, sun-aligned arc associated with the largest peak in precipitating electron flux. This arc was also observed at Thule, Greenland, with an intensified film camera. These observations suggest that at least one of the arcs that were observed at Sondre Stromfjord extended across a large part of the polar cap. The radar at Sondre Stromfjord measured electron density and ion drift velocities associated with the four arcs. The radar drift measurements were superimposed on the all-sky video images to determine the location of the measurements relative to the arcs. Plasma drifts outside the arcs were found to be both sunward and antisunward, while within the arcs the drifts were predominantly antisunward. The variability of the drifts in the direction parallel to the arcs indicates that the electric fields were highly structured even though the configuration and motion of the arcs were well behaved. The motion of the auroral forms perpendicular to the arcs was generally in the same direction as the perpendicular component of the plasma velocity. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988

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Abstract

Keywords
Ionosphere, Polar cap ionosphere, Ionosphere, Auroral ionosphere, Ionosphere, Particle precipitation, Ionosphere, Electric fields
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union
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