Upper-atmospheric effects of magnetic storms: a brief tutorial

✍ Scribed by A.D. Richmond; G. Lu

• Book ID: 104407034
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 734 KB
• Volume: 62
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1364-6826
• DOI: 10.1016/s1364-6826(00)00094-8

✦ Synopsis

The physical processes underlying several phenomena of upper-atmospheric storms are described: magnetospherically driven ion convection and Joule heating and their impact on the high-latitude thermosphere and ionosphere; global changes in thermospheric circulation and composition; traveling atmospheric disturbances; and e ects of electric-ÿeld penetration to middle and low latitudes. Examples from the 1997 January 10 -11 storm are used to illustrate some of these features. It is pointed out that not only the magnitude, but also the sign of many storm-time changes at any given location depend sensitively on the temporal and spatial variations of auroral particle precipitation and high-latitude electric ÿelds. In order for simulation models to be able to predict upper-atmospheric storm e ects accurately, improved determination of the high-latitude inputs will be required.