A dynamical model of high-latitude convection derived from SuperDARN plasma drift measurements

Abstract

A discrete set of climatological patterns of high-latitude ionospheric convection are derived using line-of-sight plasma drift data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN). The patterns are derived independently for the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere and for varying solar wind, interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), and dipole tilt angle conditions. By interpolating between discrete patterns, a dynamical model of convection is obtained, which can uniquely specify the high-latitude electrostatic potential distribution for a wide range of solar wind, IMF, and dipole tilt parameter values. Accounting for solar wind velocity dependencies in convection leads to better resolving the large-scale convection pattern, as compared to previous statistical models based on SuperDARN data. It is shown that the mesoscale features of the climatological model compare favorably to the features seen in instantaneous patterns of convection observed with SuperDARN. Comparison of the model to other statistical or empirical models derived from ground- and space-based measurements shows good agreement with most models. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.