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On the reversal from “sunward” to “antisunward“ plasma convection in the dayside high latitude ionosphere
Author(s) -
Jorgensen T. S.,
FriisChristensen E.,
Wickwar V. B.,
Kelly J. D.,
Clauer C. R.,
Banks P. M.
Publication year - 1984
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/gl011i009p00887
Subject(s) - ionosphere , magnetosphere , noon , physics , geophysics , convection , dusk , solar wind , polar , incoherent scatter , latitude , plasma , interplanetary magnetic field , high latitude , atmospheric sciences , daytime , astronomy , meteorology , quantum mechanics
Preliminary observations of dayside high latitude ionospheric plasma convection with the Sondrestrom incoherent‐scatter radar indicate that plasma can be observed to enter the polar cap region through rotational reversals at most local times between dawn and dusk and not just in a narrow region around noon. Assuming that rotational reversals are signatures of a solar wind‐magnetosphere interaction which drives magnetospheric convection, the observations indicate that this interaction occurs over a longitudinally wide area of the dayside magnetosphere. The observations also show that the distribution of F‐region plasma in the polar cap is dependent on ionization sources anywhere between dawn and dusk in the dayside high latitude ionosphere.