The enhancement of the thermospheric density during the Sept. 25-26, 2001 magnetic storm

Abstract

The CHAMP satellite observed large enhancement of the neutral atmospheric density in the southern auroral region during the Sept. 25-26, 2001 magnetic storm. This enhancement was accompanied by intense auroral electrojets and strong small-scale field-aligned currents. Joule heating rate and the heating rate by these small-scale field-aligned currents are compared. Results show that the heating rate by small-scale field-aligned currents is about 2∼3 orders of magnitude higher than that by the Joule heating, indicating its importance as a heating source. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.