Hemispheric asymmetries in Poynting flux derived from DMSP spacecraft
We provide high-resolution maps of quasi-static Poynting flux (PF) in each hemisphere based on nine-satellite years of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data. Conjugate comparisons from similar to 850 km reveal more quasi-static PF arriving in the northern hemisphere (NH) than the southern hemisphere (SH). This tendency is clear in the dawn-dusk sectors and during intervals when Kp < 3, which accounts for similar to 80% of the study interval. Summer-to-summer comparisons indicate this asymmetry is partially associated with more NH solar illumination, which supports stronger NH field-aligned currents (FAC). Differing hemispheric FAC configurations may also play a role. Our findings support and broaden earlier reports of similar NH preference for the deposition of Alfvenic PF. Regionally the NH has stronger dusk-region PF, while the SH has stronger mid-morning PF. We find PF deposition in the near-cusp regions that rivals and often exceeds the PF intensity in the auroral zones.
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https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7zw1qcs
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2016-01-01T00:00:00Z
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2021-09-08T00:00:00Z
Copyright author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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