M-I Coupling: Electric Field Variability in the High-Latitude Ionosphere

调查人员将使用来自超级双极光雷达网(SuperDARN)的视距(LOS)速度漂移测量来表征高纬度电离层速度变异性的统计性质。他们将使用现有的SuperDARN数据集来确定整个高纬度电离层100x45公里空间尺度和1分钟时间尺度上LOS测量的时间变异性。结果表明，对流电场的变化是决定该地区焦耳加热量的一个重要因素。热层环流模式使用统计或平均对流电场，不包含小尺度变率的信息，因此严重低估了焦耳加热量。SuperDARN雷达的广泛覆盖将使人们能够确定速度可变性和磁层特征之间的关系。由此产生的电场可变性的综合特征将有助于为全球模型提供更切合实际的输入，并有助于更好地了解磁层-电离层系统。

The investigators will use line-of-sight (LOS) velocity drift measurements from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) to characterize the statistical nature of velocity variability in the high latitude ionosphere. They will use the existing SuperDARN dataset to determine the temporal variability in LOS measurements on 100X45 km spatial scales and 1 minute time scales over the entire high latitude ionosphere. It has been shown that variability in the convection electric field is a significant factor in determining the amount of Joule heating in this region. General circulation models of the thermosphere use statistical or averaged convection electric fields which contain no information about the small-scale variability and thus seriously underestimate the amount of Joule heating. The wide coverage of the SuperDARN radars will allow determination of the relationships between velocity variability and magnetospheric features. The resulting comprehensive characterizations of the electric field variability will facilitate more realistic inputs to global models and better understanding of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system.