TY  - JOUR
AU  - Marchaudon, A.
AU  - Cerisier, J-C
AU  - Greenwald, R. A.
AU  - Sofko, G. J.
PY  - 2004//
TI  - Electrodynamics of a flux transfer event: Experimental test of the Southwood model
JO  - Geophysical research letters
VL  - 31
PB  - American Geophysical Union
KW  - 2409 Ionosphere: Current systems
KW  - 2431 Ionosphere: Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions
KW  - 2463 Ionosphere: Plasma convection
KW  - 2784 Magnetospheric Physics: Solar wind/magnetosphere interactions
N2  - On 12 September 1999, a conjunction between two SuperDARN radars and the Ørsted satellite gave, for the first time, simultaneous access to the ionospheric convection enhancement and the field-aligned currents (FACs) associated with a Flux Transfer Event. The radars observed an azimuthally elongated convection flow burst and the Ørsted satellite observed a series of successive small-scale parallel currents alternating between downward and upward. The most poleward pair of currents, whose directions were in agreement with the Southwood model, was observed when Ørsted crossed the front edge of the flow burst. A quantitative comparison of the current density of each FAC and of the Pedersen current density indicates that the closure current for this FACs pair occurred inside the flow burst, confirming the validity of the Southwood model. The Poynting flux carried by the parallel currents was less than 1% of the power carried by the solar wind plasma.
SN  - 0094-8276
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004GL019922
N1  - exported from refbase (http://publi.ipev.fr/polar_references/show.php?record=5587), last updated on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:04:27 +0200
ID  - Marchaudon_etal2004
ER  -