Polar cap patch segmentation of the tongue of ionization in the morning convection cell. Issue 12 (20th June 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Q.‐H.; Zhang, B.‐C.; Moen, J.; Lockwood, M.; McCrea, I. W.; Yang, H.‐G.; Hu, H.‐Q.; Liu, R.‐Y.; Zhang, S.‐R.; Lester, M.
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 40:Issue 12(2013:Jun.)
• Page Start: 2918
• Page End: 2922
• Publication Date: 2013-06-20
• Subjects: Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1002/grl.50616
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p id="grl50616-para-0001">[1] Two types of poleward moving plasma concentration enhancements (PMPCEs) were observed during a sequence of pulsed reconnection events, both in the morning convection cell: Type L (low density) was associated with a cusp flow channel and seems likely to have been produced by ionization associated with particle precipitation, while Type H (high density) appeared to originate from the segmentation of the tongue of ionization by the processes which produced the Type L events. As a result, the Type L and Type H PMPCEs were interspersed, producing a complex density structure which underlines the importance of cusp flow channels as a mechanism for segmenting and structuring electron density in the cusp and shows the necessity of differentiating between at least two classes of electron density patches.</p> </abstract>