An azimuthal velocity shear with a reversal within an earthward magnetotail fast flow is studied using Cluster observations. In addition, ionospheric SuperDARN data and different magnetospheric models (T96 and TF04) are utilized when interpreting the Cluster observations. Untwisting of twisted tail B field lines is a good candidate to explain the observations.

Currents due to slow bulk electron motion along vertical magnetic fields are studied for plasmas subject to a gravitational force. A general feature of this problem is a singularity in the plasma pressure force that develops at some finite altitude when a plasma that is initially in static equilibrium is set into slow motion. Classical fluid models thus do not allow general steady-state solutions for field-aligned currents. The alternative is that only time-varying solutions exist.

The paper investigates the long-term variability in stratospheric ozone (O3) and temperature (T) from 1979 to 2013, and its relationship with the 11-year solar cycle. It is found that O3 and T anomalies are characterized by long-term trends; (ii) correlations are consistent with photochemical reactions and large-scale transports; and (iii) wavelet cross-spectra between O3 and Mg II index show common power during the 11-year period, proving the impact of the solar variability on the atmosphere.

In this paper, we simulate the plasma on a magnetic field line above the aurora. Initially, about half of the acceleration voltage is concentrated in a thin double layer at a few thousand km altitude. When the voltage is lowered, electrons trapped between the double layer and the magnetic mirror are released. In the process we see formation of electron beams and phase space holes. A temporary reversal of the polarity of the double layer is also seen as well as hysteresis effects in its position.

The results of stimulated electromagnetic emission (SEE) polarization investigations under different modes of the pumping wave polarization are presented. The results were obtained in November 2012 during a heating campaign utilizing the SPEAR heating facility and a PGI radio interferometer. The polarization ellipse parameters of the SEE DM components were determined. It was found that the polarization direction of DM components was preserved under different polarizations of the pump waves.

Sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) are a natural laboratory to study vertical and horizontal coupling throughout the whole atmosphere. This study presents MLS derived pole-to-pole temperature anomalies associated with the 2013 major SSW. The results provide observational evidence for interhemispheric coupling, and the wave-mean flow interactions thought to be responsible for the formation of temperature anomalies in the summer hemisphere.

Presented in this paper is an empirical model for long-term rain attenuation prediction and statistical prediction of site diversity gain on slant path. The novelty of the model is the inclusion of low elevation angles and high link frequency up to 70GHz in the model derivation. The comparison results with Hodge, Panagopoulos and Nagaraja empirical predictions show that the proposed model provides better performance for site separation distance and elevation angle. The model performance is good.

Ions from Earth's ionosphere continually escape into space. This article examines ions escaping the auroral oval, a region in the polar region of Earth where auroras occur. Previous works have shown that ionospheric ions escape during active auroras, and more as the intensity of the aurora increases. In contrast, we have examined times of no auroras and find that ions are still escaping the auroral ionosphere. These escaping ions are an important source of auroral ions in the magnetosphere.

This study presents an extensive comparison of aerosol extinction using lidar and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II data over Gadanki (13.5ºN, 79.2ºE), a tropical station in India. Results strongly emphasize that, for a more accurate derivation of aerosol extinction over the tropics, (i) best meteorological parameters that are close in terms of space and time to the lidar measurement site and (ii) measured values of the aerosol-backscattering--extinction ratio are crucial.

The unique, quarter-century-long Na lidar observations of midlatitude mesopause region temperatures are used to yield a cooling trend starting from an insignificant value of 0.64K/decade at 85km, increasing to a maximum of 2.8K/decade between 91 and 93km, and then decreasing to a warming trend above 103km. The long warming episode observed in the 1990s is found to mirror that of the global surface cooling after the Mt Pinatubo eruption.

The descent of a sporadic E layer near 95km was observed with two rockets during a geomagnetically very quiet period. Four wind profiles showed that the location was surprisingly consistent with the neutral wind shear and a small electric field. Both electron probes found deep depletions just below the layers, which could be due to charged mesospheric smoke particles. Those have recently been detected in the mesosphere, but not yet in immediate connection with sporadic E.

Electron concentrations observed by EISCAT radars can be reasonable well represented using AIMOS v1.2 satellite-data-based ionization model and SIC D-region ion chemistry model. SIC-EISCAT difference varies from event to event, probably because the statistical nature of AIMOS ionization is not capturing all the spatio-temporal fine structure of electron precipitation. Below 90km, AIMOS overestimates electron ionization because of proton contamination of the satellite electron detectors.

Irregular broadband pulsations and narrow-band Pc5 waves are found to be a ubiquitous element of ULF activity in the dayside high-latitude region. To identify the ionospheric projections of the cusp, we use the width of return signal of the SuperDARN radar. The spatial structure of broadband Pc5-6 pulsation spectral power has been found to have a localized latitudinal peak, not under the cusp proper as was previously thought, but several degrees southward from the equatorward cusp boundary.

Data-based models have been derived to forecast the >0.8MeV and >2MeV electron fluxes at geostationary Earth orbit. The models employ solar wind parameters as inputs to provide an estimate of the average electron flux for the following day, i.e. the 1-day-ahead forecast. The identified models are shown to provide a reliable forecast for both >0.8MeV and >2MeV electron fluxes and are capable of providing real-time warnings of when the electron fluxes will be dangerously high.