TY  - STD
AU  - Chisham G, Freeman M. P.
PY  - 2009//
TI  - Spatial distribution of average vorticity in the high-latitude ionosphere and its variation with interplanetary magnetic field direction and season
T2  - J. Geophys. Res.
BT  - J. Geophys. Res.
SP  - A09301 -
VL  - 114
IS  - A9
PB  - AGU
KW  - ionosphere
KW  - vorticity
KW  - field-aligned current
KW  - 2431 Ionosphere: Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions
KW  - 2409 Ionosphere: Current systems
KW  - 2437 Ionosphere: Ionospheric dynamics
KW  - 2494 Ionosphere: Instruments and techniques
KW  - 2721 Magnetospheric Physics: Field-aligned currents and current systems
KW  -
N2  - We present a technique to measure the magnetic field-aligned vorticity of mesoscale plasma flows in the F region ionosphere using line-of-sight velocity measurements made by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN). Vorticity is often used as a proxy for magnetic field-aligned current (FAC) intensity in the ionosphere but also provides information about turbulent processes in the ionosphere and magnetosphere. Using 6 years (2000–2005 inclusive) of vorticity measurements made by six SuperDARN radars in the Northern Hemisphere, we have compiled, for the first time, maps of average vorticity across the northern polar ionosphere. These maps have been subdivided according to different seasonal and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. The variations in the morphology of the vorticity maps with IMF direction match very closely those seen in maps of average FAC intensity (determined using different methods and instrumentation), suggesting that vorticity is a good proxy for FAC in an averaged sense. The variations in the morphology of the vorticity maps with season show differences from those seen in the FAC maps, illustrating that ionospheric conductance plays a major role in determining the differences between measurements of vorticity and FAC.
SN  - 0148-0227
L1  - https://sciences.ipev.fr/proposals/uploads/files/312/2011/Chisham_et_al_2009JA014263.pdf
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014263
N1  - exported from refbase (http://publi.ipev.fr/polar_references/show.php?record=2084), last updated on Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0100
ID  - ChishamG2009
ER  -