Day-night coupling by a localized flow channel visualized by polar cap patch propagation

Abstract

We present unique coordinated observations of the dayside auroral oval, polar cap, and nightside auroral oval by three all-sky imagers, two Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars, and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)-17. This data set revealed that a dayside poleward moving auroral form (PMAF) evolved into a polar cap airglow patch that propagated across the polar cap and then nightside poleward boundary intensifications (PBIs). SuperDARN observations detected fast antisunward flows associated with the PMAF, and the DMSP satellite, whose conjunction occurred within a few minutes after the PMAF initiation, measured enhanced low-latitude boundary layer precipitation and enhanced plasma density with a strong antisunward flow burst. The polar cap patch was spatially and temporally coincident with a localized antisunward flow channel. The propagation across the polar cap and the subsequent PBIs suggests that the flow channel originated from dayside reconnection and then reached the nightside open-closed boundary, triggering localized nightside reconnection and flow bursts within the plasma sheet. © 2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.