Estimating along-track plasma drift speed from electron density measurements by the three Swarm satellites
J. Park1,H. Lühr2,C. Stolle2,3,G. Malhotra4,J. B. H. Baker4,S. Buchert5,and R. Gill5J. Park et al.J. Park1,H. Lühr2,C. Stolle2,3,G. Malhotra4,J. B. H. Baker4,S. Buchert5,and R. Gill5
Received: 26 Dec 2014 – Revised: 28 May 2015 – Accepted: 15 Jun 2015 – Published: 08 Jul 2015
Abstract. Plasma convection in the high-latitude ionosphere provides important information about magnetosphere–ionosphere–thermosphere coupling. In this study we estimate the along-track component of plasma convection within and around the polar cap, using electron density profiles measured by the three Swarm satellites. The velocity values estimated from the two different satellite pairs agree with each other. In both hemispheres the estimated velocity is generally anti-sunward, especially for higher speeds. The obtained velocity is in qualitative agreement with Super Dual Auroral Radar Network data. Our method can supplement currently available instruments for ionospheric plasma velocity measurements, especially in cases where these traditional instruments suffer from their inherent limitations. Also, the method can be generalized to other satellite constellations carrying electron density probes.
Though high-latitude plasma convection has been monitored with a number of methods, more independent measurements are still warranted. In this study we introduce an automatic method to estimate along-track plasma drift velocity in the high-latitude ionosphere using the Swarm constellation. The obtained velocity is in qualitative agreement with Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) data. The method can be generalized to any satellite constellations in pearls-on-a-string configurations.
Though high-latitude plasma convection has been monitored with a number of methods, more...
