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A new tool for determining ionospheric currents from magnetic satellite data
Author(s) -
Olsen Nils
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/96gl02896
Subject(s) - ionosphere , geodesy , satellite , geophysics , latitude , geology , altitude (triangle) , orbit (dynamics) , current (fluid) , correlation coefficient , physics , geometry , astronomy , statistics , oceanography , mathematics , aerospace engineering , engineering
An algorithm for determining ionospheric currents at high latitudes from magnetic measurements made by low altitude satellites is presented and illustrated using MAGSAT data. The ionospheric currents are assumed to flow in a height of 115 km perpendicular to the orbit plane of the satellite, which corresponds to East‐West direction in the case of the dawn/dusk MAGSAT orbit. The method allows for studying the time development of both the strength and the location of the auroral electrojets. Application to 13 days of MAGSAT data in winter 1979 yields a correlation coefficient of r =0.88 between the AE ‐index and the strength of the auroral electrojets; their latitudinal location moves southward with increasing magnetospheric ring current as measured by the D st ‐index.