Thermospheric poleward wind surge at midlatitudes during great storm intervals
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MarchStorm_final.pdf
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Main article
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Author(s)
Zhang, Shun-Rong
Erickson, Philip J.
Foster, John C.
Holt, John M.
Coster, Anthea J.
Makela, Jonathan J.
Noto, John
Meriwether, John W.
Harding, Brian J.
Riccobono, Juanita
Date Issued
July 2015
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Citation
Zhang, Shun-Rong, Philip J. Erickson, John C. Foster, John M. Holt, Anthea J. Coster, Jonathan J. Makela, John Noto, et al. “Thermospheric Poleward Wind Surge at Midlatitudes during Great Storm Intervals.” Geophysical Research Letters 42, no. 13 (July 16, 2015): 5132–40.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We report a significant poleward surge in thermospheric winds at subauroral and midlatitudes following the 17–18 March 2015 great geomagnetic storm. This premidnight surge is preceded by strong westward winds. These disturbances were observed over three sites with geodetic latitudes 35–42°N in the American sector by Fabry-Perot interferometers at 630 nm wavelength. Prior to the wind disturbances, subauroral polarization streams (SAPS) were measured by the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar between 20 and 02 UT. We identify the observed neutral wind variations as driven by SAPS, through a scenario where strong ion flows cause a westward neutral wind, subsequently establishing a poleward wind surge due to the poleward Coriolis force on that westward wind. These regional disturbances appear to have prevented the well-known storm time equatorward wind surge from propagating into low latitudes, with the consequence that the classic disturbance dynamo mechanism failed to occur.
MIT Department
Haystack Observatory
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064836
