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Ann. Geophys., 18, 1118-1127, 2000
www.ann-geophys.net/18/1118/2000/
© European Geosciences Union 2000
Multi-instrument study of footprints of magnetopause reconnection in the summer ionosphere
S. E. Pryse, A. M. Smith, I. K. Walker, and L. Kersley
Department of Physics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3BZ, UK
Abstract. Results are presented from a multi-instrument
investigation of the signatures of equatorial reconnection in the summer, sunlit
ionosphere. Well-established ion dispersion signatures measured during three
DMSP satellite passes were used to identify footprints in ionospheric
observations made by radio tomography, and both the EISCAT ESR and mainland
radars. Under the prevalent conditions of southward IMF with the Bz
component increasing in magnitude, the reconnection footprint was seen to move
equatorward through the ESR field-of-view. The most striking signature was in
the electron temperatures of the F2 region measured by the EISCAT mainland radar
that revealed significantly enhanced temperatures with a steep equatorward edge,
in general agreement with the leading edge of the ion dispersion. It is
suggested that this sharp transition in the electron temperature may be an
indicator of the boundary, mapping from the reconnection site, between closed
geomagnetic field lines and those opened along which magnetosheath ions
precipitate.
Key words: Ionosphere (ionosphere-magnetosphere
interactions; particle precipitation; plasma temperature and density)
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