A source or a sink? How the altitude of particle precipitation influence high-latitude electrodynamics

Ivarsen, Magnus F.

doi:10.5194/angeo-44-149-2026

Articles | Volume 44, issue 1

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-149-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-149-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 44, issue 1

Regular paper

| Highlight paper

|

26 Feb 2026

Regular paper | Highlight paper |

| 26 Feb 2026

A source or a sink? How the altitude of particle precipitation influence high-latitude electrodynamics

Magnus F. Ivarsen

Data sets

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Bjørnøya in 2014 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/CMZEWF

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Bjørnøya in 2015 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/QG9XCM

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Bjørnøya in 2016 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/BPU1RV

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Kjell Henriksen in 2014 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/LZX3MU

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Kjell Henriksen in 2015 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/13FHF9

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Kjell Henriksen in 2016 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/1CA1KO

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Ny Ålesund in 2014 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/P69VFS

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Ny Ålesund in 2015 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/MIUYBH

GNSS Scintillation Data (60 s) at Ny Ålesund in 2016 K. Oksavik https://doi.org/10.18710/D46B20

Short summary

When energetic particles rain into Earth’s lower ionosphere, they ionize the gas, creating a highly conductive base layer. Using a large database of observations from four orbiting space weather satellites, we demonstrate that this plasma foundation acts as a giant electrical short-circuit: it actively neutralizes the electric fields that would otherwise power plasma turbulence higher up. Without this conductive base to drain the energy, topside turbulence freely grows and persists.