Relationship between cusp-region ion outflows and east-west magnetic
field fluctuations in Southern and Northern Hemispheres
Abstract
A number of interdependent conditions and processes contribute to
ionospheric-origin energetic ion outflows. Due to these interdependences
and the associated observational challenges, energetic ion outflows
remain a poorly understood facet of atmosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere
coupling. Here we demonstrate the relationship between east-west
magnetic field fluctuations ($\Delta
B_{\textrm{EW}}$) and energetic outflows in the
magnetosphere-ionosphere transition region. We use dayside cusp-region
FAST satellite observations made at apogee
($\sim$4200-km altitude) near fall equinox and
solstices in both hemispheres to derive statistical relationships
between ion upflow and ($\Delta
B_{\textrm{EW}}$) spectral power as a function of
spacecraft-frame frequency bands between 0 and 4 Hz. Identification of
ionospheric-origin energetic ion upflows is automated, and the spectral
power $P_{EW}$ in each frequency band is obtained via integration
of $\Delta B_{\textrm{EW}}$ power
spectral density. Derived relationships are of the form
$J_{\parallel,i} = J_{0,i}
P_{EW}^\gamma$ for upward ion flux
$J_{\parallel,i}$ at 130-km altitude. The highest
correlation coefficients are obtained for spacecraft-frame frequencies
$\sim$0.1–0.5 Hz. Summer solstice and fall equinox
observations yield power law indices $\gamma
\simeq$ 0.9–1.3 and correlation coefficients $r
\geq 0.92$, while winter solstice observations yield
$\gamma \simeq$ 0.4–0.8 with $r
\gtrsim 0.8$. Mass spectrometer observations reveal that
the oxygen/hydrogen ion composition ratio near summer solstice is much
greater than the corresponding ratio near winter. These results thus
reinforce the importance of ion composition in any outflow model. If
observed $\Delta B_{\textrm{EW}}$
variations are purely spatial and not temporal, we show that
spacecraft-frame frequencies $\sim$0.1–0.5 Hz
correspond to perpendicular spatial scales of several to tens of
kilometers.