Penetration of MeV electrons into the mesosphere accompanying pulsating aurorae

Y Miyoshi,A Matsuoka,K Keika,Y Ogawa,Iku Shinohara ,Takefumi Mitani ,Shun Imajo ,Nana Higashio ,Keisuke Hosokawa ,Shoichiro Yokota ,Atsushi Kumamoto ,Antti Kero ,Pekka T Verronen ,Tomoaki Hori ,Chae‐Woo Jun ,Shinji Saito ,Shoya Matsuda ,Esa Turunen ,Satoshi Kurita ,Takeshi Takashima ,Yoshiya Kasahara ,Satoshi Kasahara ,S Oyama ,Shoji Motomizu ,Masaaki Teramoto ,Fuminori Tsuchiya ,Satoko Nakamura

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92611-3

Abstract

Pulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons (energies of a few keV to a few tens of keV) through wave-particle interactions, thereby depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km. However, the maximum energy of precipitated electrons and its impacts on the atmosphere are unknown. Herein, we report unique observations by the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar showing electron precipitations ranging from a few hundred keV to a few MeV during a PsA associated with a weak geomagnetic storm. Simultaneously, the Arase spacecraft has observed intense whistler-mode chorus waves at the conjugate location along magnetic field lines. A computer simulation based on the EISCAT observations shows immediate catalytic ozone depletion at the mesospheric altitudes. Since PsA occurs frequently, often in daily basis, and extends its impact over large MLT areas, we anticipate that the PsA possesses a significant forcing to the mesospheric ozone chemistry in high latitudes through high energy electron precipitations. Therefore, the generation of PsA results in the depletion of mesospheric ozone through high-energy electron precipitations caused by whistler-mode chorus waves, which are similar to the well-known effect due to solar energetic protons triggered by solar flares.

Highlights

IntroductionPulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons (energies of a few keV to a few tens of keV) through wave-particle interactions, thereby depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km
Pulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons through wave-particle interactions, thereby depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km
We report unique coordinated experiments for the observation of PsA in Scandinavia, which were realized by the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar[16], the all-sky camera network, and the Japanese spacecraft A rase[17]

Summary

Introduction

Pulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons (energies of a few keV to a few tens of keV) through wave-particle interactions, thereby depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km. We report unique observations by the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar showing electron precipitations ranging from a few hundred keV to a few MeV during a PsA associated with a weak geomagnetic storm. The generation of PsA results in the depletion of mesospheric ozone through high-energy electron precipitations caused by whistler-mode chorus waves, which are similar to the well-known effect due to solar energetic protons triggered by solar flares. Diffuse aurorae, which may not be visible from the ground, are caused by the precipitation of charged particles (principally electrons) without field-aligned accelerations. The Arase spacecraft observed electrons and ions as well as electric and magnetic fields and waves in the Van Allen radiation belts

Methods

Findings

Conclusion