On deriving incident auroral particle fluxes in the daytime using combined ground-based optical and radar measurements

Abstract

Particle energies and fluxes have predominantly been measured from instruments onboard satellites. In this study, we use daytime ground-based oxygen redline emission measurements, along with the ionospheric electron density, and electron temperature profiles measured from the incoherent scatter radar, and a physics-based modeling approach to derive the energy and flux of particles incident over Boston during the storm of 30 October 2003. We find that the characteristic energy and the associated flux vary between 0.07-5.7 keV and 0.5-130 mW m-2, respectively, during the intense magnetic disturbance that brought aurora to midlatitudes. Such an approach not only offers another method to estimate the incident particle energies and fluxes but also enhances our understanding on the channels of energy deposition in the upper atmospheric region, especially during magnetic disturbances, about which database is poor. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.