Auroral Energy Flux and Joule Heating Derived From Global Maps of Field-Aligned Currents.

ABSTRACT: We calculate auroral energy flux and Joule heating in the high-latitude ionosphere for 27 geomagnetically active days using two-dimensional maps of field-aligned currents determined by the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Response Experiment. The energy input to the ionosphere due to Joule heating increases more rapidly with geomagnetic activity than that due to precipitating particles. The energy flux varies more smoothly with time than Joule heating, which is impulsive in nature on time scales from minutes to tens of minutes. These impulsive events correlate well with recoveries in the Sym-H index, with the maximum correlation when compared to Sym-H recoveries 70 min later. Because of prior studies that have associated transient recoveries of Sym-H with substorm expansions, the delay f

SUBMITTER: Robinson RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8047875 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature