Polar cap patch segmentation of the tongue of ionization in the morning convection cell

Zhang, Q.-H., Zhang, B.-C., Moen, J., Lockwood, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7397-2172, McCrea, I. W., Yang, H.-G., Hu, H.-Q., Liu, R.-Y., Zhang, S.-R. and Lester, M. (2013) Polar cap patch segmentation of the tongue of ionization in the morning convection cell. Geophysical Research Letters, 40 (12). pp. 2918-2922. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: 10.1002/grl.50616

Abstract/Summary

Two types of poleward moving plasma concentration enhancements (PMPCEs) were observed during a sequence of pulsed reconnection events, both in the morning convection cell: Type L (low density) was associated with a cusp flow channel and seems likely to have been produced by ionization associated with particle precipitation, while Type H (high density) appeared to originate from the segmentation of the tongue of ionization by the processes which produced the Type L events. As a result, the Type L and Type H PMPCEs were interspersed, producing a complex density structure which underlines the importance of cusp flow channels as a mechanism for segmenting and structuring electron density in the cusp and shows the necessity of differentiating between at least two classes of electron density patches.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/33942
Identification Number/DOI	10.1002/grl.50616
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Uncontrolled Keywords	Polar cap patches; tongue of ionization; poleward-moving plasma concentration enhancements
Publisher	American Geophysical Union
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