All Physics Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
6
Issue
11
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Publication Date
1979
First Page
877
Last Page
880
Abstract
We have used a plasma convection model to predict diurnal patterns of horizontal drift velocities in the vicinity of the EISCAT incoherent scatter facility at Tromso, Norway and for Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland, a proposed new incoherent scatter facility site. The convection model includes the offset of 11.4° between the geographic and geomagnetic poles (northern hemisphere), the tendency of plasma to corotate about the geographic pole, and a magnetospheric electric field mapped to a circle about a center offset by 5° in the antisunward direction from the magnetic pole. Four different magnetospheric electric field configurations were considered, including a constant cross‐ tail electric field, asymmetric electric fields with enhancements on the dawn and dusk sides of the polar cap, and an electric field pattern that is not aligned parallel to the noon‐midnight magnetic meridian. The different electric field configurations produce different signatures in the plasma convection pattern which are clearly identified. Both of these high‐latitude sites are better suited to study magnetospheric convection effects than either Chatanika, Alaska or Millstone Hill, Massachusetts. Also, each site appears to have unique capabilities with regard to studying certain aspects of the magnetospheric electric field.
Recommended Citation
Sojka, J. J., W. J. Raitt, and R. W. Schunk, High-latitude plasma convection: Predictions for EISCAT and Sondre Stromfjord, Geophys. Res. Lett., 6, 877–880, 1979.
Comments
Originally published by the American Geophysical Union. Abstract available through the journal, Geophysical Research Letters.