Identification

Title

Small-scale and mesoscale variabilities in the electric field and particle precipitation and their impacts on joule heating

Abstract

In this study, the electric field and the particle precipitation at different spatial scale sizes have been investigated by utilizing the Dynamic Explorer 2 satellite data set, focusing on conditions of moderately strong southward interplanetary magnetic field. Dynamic Explorer 2 data from the period between 1981 and 1983, from all universal times, seasons, and both hemispheres, have been processed and binned over geomagnetic latitude and local time. It is found that, as compared with the large-scale (>500 km) average electric field and particle precipitation, the variabilities (i.e., departures from the large-scale average) of electric field and particle precipitation are not negligible. Moreover, the electric field variability tends to be anticorrelated with the particle precipitation variability in the auroral regions on small scale and mesoscale (<500 km). The impacts associated with the small-scale and mesoscale electric field and particle precipitation variabilities on Joule heating have also been addressed in this study by using the Global Ionosphere and Thermosphere Model. It is found that although Joule heating can be significantly enhanced by the small-scale and mesoscale electric field variabilities (similar to 27% globally), the corresponding change in the particle precipitation tends to depress such enhancement (-5% globally), which is not negligible on the dusk side (up to -17.5% locally). It is the first time that the correlation between electric field and particle precipitation variabilities on small scale and mesoscale has been quantified. Furthermore, the impact on Joule heating associated with the correlation between the small-scale and mesoscale electric field and particle precipitation variabilities has been evaluated unprecedentedly in a general circulation model.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d78g8ppq

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2018-11-24T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact