The response of the high-latitude thermosphere to geomagnetic substorms

Abstract

Enhanced ionization and electric fields associated with geomagnetic substorms lead to time-varying momentum (ion drag) and heat (Joule dissipation) sources in the high latitude thermosphere. These momentum and heat sources, in turn, cause changes in the structure of the wind, pressure and temperature fields, and, in addition, provide a mechanism for the generation of atmospheric gravity waves. We have developed a model which has been used to simulate, on a spatial scale of tens of kilometers, the response of the high latitude thermosphere to these momentum and heat sources, which constitute a major factor in the coupling between the magnetosphere, the ionosphere and the upper atmosphere. Simulations reported herein indicate that, because the coupling between ions and neutrals is highly dependent on the neutral-ion collision frequency, the response of the neutral atmosphere varies, not only as a function of total ionization, but also as a function of the details of the electron density profile.