Particle precipitation during NEIAL events: Simultaneous ground based nighttime observations at Svalbard

Abstract

In this paper we present Naturally Enhanced Ion Acoustic Lines (NEIALs) observed with the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) together with auroral emissions observed with the Meridian Scanning Photometer (MSP). This is the first report of NEIALs observed during nighttime at Svalbard. Previously, NEIALs have been associated with a strong red line intensity (>10 kR), which exceeds the green line intensities. The high intensity in the red line emission is a sign of abundant low energy electron precipitation. In our observations, one of the NEIAL events was accompanied by the red line emissions far below the previously reported intensities. This happened when the green line intensity exceeds the red line intensity. In this work we discuss the behaviour of electron precipitation characteristics and optical emissions during NEIAL events on the nightside, and we suggest that intensity enhancements in the 844.6 nm emission line could be a better candidate than the 630.0 nm emission as an optical signature for NEIALs. © 2009 Author(s).