On the relationship between flux transfer events, temperature enhancements, and ion upflow events in the cusp ionosphere

Abstract

[1] A transit of the dayside aurora across the field-of-view of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar occurred on 20 December 1998. This offered an excellent opportunity to study the spatial structure of the cusp/cleft aurora using meridian scanning photometer and incoherent scatter radar. We were able to identify distinct regions of upflow driven by ion heating (type 1) and upflow driven by electron heating (type 2) around poleward moving auroral forms, a transient auroral feature tied to flux transfer events. A quiet period before the auroral transit allowed us to estimate a neutral temperature profile, which enabled calculation of the ion-neutral relative wind. We found evidence for purely ion heating-driven upflow equatorward of the cusp auroral boundary, and for electron heating-driven upflow near the equatorward auroral boundary. The greatest upflow occurred near the center of the cusp aurora when both ion and electron temperatures were enhanced. The observed upflows were greater than expected from ambipolar diffusion alone, suggesting that ion-neutral frictional heating did contribute to upflow events in most cases. The great variability observed in ion temperature indicates that the ion flow was greatly structured within the aurora. Type 1–2 upflows may be considered as spatial structures of active cusp. Upflows are observed at various times in their evolution, and one upflow event, estimated to be 5–10 minutes old, showed a lifting of the F region of some 100 km, indicating a hybrid of type 1 and type 2.