References

ANGEO

Annales Geophysicae

ANGEO

Ann. Geophys.

1432-0576

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/angeo-32-533-2014

The spatial distribution of region 2 field-aligned currents relative to subauroral polarization stream

Wang

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8459-5213

¹ ² Lühr

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1599-6758

³ Ridley

⁴ Huang

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4119-9485

Dept. of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, P. R. China

State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

Helmholtz Centre Potsdam-GFZ, German Research Center for Geosciences, 14473 Potsdam, Germany

Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI-48109, USA

22 05 2014

32 5 533 542

2014

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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To test the current-generation model of subauroral polarization stream (SAPS), we have investigated the relative positions of field-aligned currents (FACs) with respect to SAPS in a statistical way by using CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload) and DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program) satellite observations as well as model simulations. Comparative studies have been performed for consecutive CHAMP observations in different magnetic local time (MLT) sectors with respect to SAPS. The latitude of the peak westward zonal wind deduced from CHAMP measurements has been used to represent the location of the SAPS peak. Both the density and the sheet current strength of R2 (region 2) FACs are enhanced when SAPS occur. Subsequently R2 FACs decay in intensity and correspondingly the centers retreat poleward. The latitudes of the center of the R2 FAC, small- and medium-scale FACs, and SAPS shift equatorward with increasing MLT. The SAPS peaks are located between R2 and R1 (region 1) FAC peaks in all MLT bins under study. The SAPS peaks are closer to R2 centers in the later MLT sectors. The peaks of small- and medium-scale FACs are located poleward of SAPS, mainly in the upward R1 FACs region. The upward R1 FACs are partly closed by the downward R1 FACs in the dawn–morning sector. Based on model simulation, when R2 shifts equatorward to the subauroral region, the plasma flow also shifts equatorward with its peak located poleward of that of R2 FACs. Both the model and observations provide evidence that SAPS behave as caused by a magnetospheric current source.

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