Local time extent of magnetopause reconnection using space-ground coordination

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dc.contributor.authorZou, Yingen
dc.contributor.authorWalsh, Brian M.en
dc.contributor.authorNishimura, Yukitoshien
dc.contributor.authorAngelopoulos, Vassilisen
dc.contributor.authorRuohoniemi, J. Michaelen
dc.contributor.authorMcWilliams, Kathryn A.en
dc.contributor.authorNishitani, Nozomuen
dc.contributor.departmentElectrical and Computer Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-17T13:36:28Zen
dc.date.available2019-10-17T13:36:28Zen
dc.date.issued2019-04-10en
dc.description.abstractMagnetic reconnection can vary considerably in spatial extent. At the Earth's magnetopause, the extent generally corresponds to the extent in local time. The extent has been probed by multiple spacecraft crossing the magnetopause, but the estimates have large uncertainties because of the assumption of spatially continuous reconnection activity between spacecraft and the lack of information beyond areas of spacecraft coverage. The limitations can be overcome by using radars examining ionospheric flows moving anti-sunward across the open-closed field line boundary. We therefore infer the extents of reconnection using coordinated observations of multiple spacecraft and radars for three conjunction events. We find that when reconnection jets occur at only one spacecraft, only the ionosphere conjugate to this spacecraft shows a channel of fast anti-sunward flow. When reconnection jets occur at two spacecraft and the spacecraft are separated by < 1 Re, the ionosphere conjugate to both spacecraft shows a channel of fast anti-sunward flow. The consistency allows us to determine the reconnection jet extent by measuring the ionospheric flows. The full-width-at-half-maximum flow extent is 200, 432, and 1320 km, corresponding to a reconnection jet extent of 2, 4, and 11 Re. Considering that reconnection jets emanate from reconnections with a high reconnection rate, the result indicates that both spatially patchy (a few Re) and spatially continuous and extended reconnections (> 10 Re) are possible forms of active reconnection at the magnetopause. Interestingly, the extended reconnection develops from a localized patch via spreading across local time. Potential effects of IMF B-x and B-y on the reconnection extent are discussed.en
dc.description.notesThis research was supported by the NASA Living With a Star Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, administered by UCAR's Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS), NASA grant NNX15AI62G, NSF grants PLR-1341359 and AGS-1451911, and AFOSR FA9550-15-1-0179 and FA9559-16-1-0364. The THEMIS mission is supported by NASA contract NAS5-02099. SuperDARN is a collection of radars funded by national scientific funding agencies. SuperDARN Canada is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Province of Saskatchewan. We thank Tomoaki Hori for useful discussions on the SECS technique.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNASA Living With a Star Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowship Program; NASANational Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) [NNX15AI62G, NAS5-02099]; NSFNational Science Foundation (NSF) [PLR-1341359, AGS-1451911]; AFOSRUnited States Department of DefenseAir Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) [FA9550-15-1-0179, FA9559-16-1-0364]; Canada Foundation for InnovationCanada Foundation for Innovation; Canadian Space Agency; Province of Saskatchewanen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-215-2019en
dc.identifier.eissn1432-0576en
dc.identifier.issn0992-7689en
dc.identifier.issue2en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/94612en
dc.identifier.volume37en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherEuropean Geosciences Unionen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.titleLocal time extent of magnetopause reconnection using space-ground coordinationen
dc.title.serialAnnales Geophysicaeen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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