I. Dors

Whistler mode waves and Hall fields detected by MMS during a dayside magnetopause crossing

We present Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission measurements during a full magnetopause crossing associated with an enhanced southward ion flow. A quasi-steady magnetospheric whistler mode wave ...

Multispacecraft analysis of dipolarization fronts and associated whistler wave emissions using MMS data

Dipolarization fronts (DFs), embedded in bursty bulk flows, play a crucial role in Earths plasma sheet dynamics because the energy input from the solar wind is partly dissipated in their vicinity. This dissipation is in the form of strong low-frequency waves that can heat and accelerate energetic electrons up to the high-latitude plasma sheet. However, the dynamics of DF propagation and associated low-frequency waves in the magnetotail are still under debate due to instrumental limitations and spacecraft separation distances. In May 2015 the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission was in a string-of-pearls configuration with an average intersatellite distance of 160 km, which allows us to study in detail the microphysics of DFs. Thus, in this letter we employ MMS data to investigate the properties of dipolarization fronts propagating earthward and associated whistler mode wave emissions. We show that the spatial dynamics of DFs are below the ion gyroradius scale in this region (∼500 km), which can modify the dynamics of ions in the vicinity of the DF (e.g., making their motion nonadiabatic). We also show that whistler wave dynamics have a temporal scale of the order of the ion gyroperiod (a few seconds), indicating that the perpendicular temperature anisotropy can vary on such time scales.

Electron Heating at Kinetic Scales in Magnetosheath Turbulence

We present a statistical study of coherent structures at kinetic scales, using data from the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission in the Earths magnetosheath. We implemented the multi-spacecraft part ...

Performance and comparison of 532-nm and 355-nm groundwinds lidars

GroundWinds 2nd Generation (2nd Gen.) New Hampshire (NH) and GroundWinds Hawaii (HI) are direct detection Doppler LIDAR instruments that operate at 532nm and 355nm, respectively. These ground based incoherent LIDARs utilize backscatter from Rayleigh and Mie scattering to measure Doppler shifts in the atmosphere. The NH and HI instruments routinely make wind measurements from 0.5 to 15 kilometers and achieve sub-meter per second accuracies in the lower troposphere. This paper will provide a brief review of each instrument, and detail the instruments performance and achievements in wind measurement.

Electron Dynamics Within the Electron Diffusion Region of Asymmetric Reconnection

Abstract: We investigate the agyrotropic nature of electron distribution functions and their substructure to illuminate electron dynamics in a previously reported electron diffusion region (EDR) ev ...

The Properties of Lion Roars and Electron Dynamics in Mirror Mode Waves Observed by the Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission: ELECTRONS AND LION ROARS IN MIRROR MODES

Mirror mode waves are ubiquitous in the Earths magnetosheath, in particular behind the quasi‐perpendicular shock. Embedded in these nonlinear structures, intense lion roars are often observed. Lion roars are characterized by whistler wave packets at a frequency ∼100 Hz, which are thought to be generated in the magnetic field minima. In this study, we make use of the high time resolution instruments on board the Magnetospheric MultiScale mission to investigate these waves and the associated electron dynamics in the quasi‐perpendicular magnetosheath on 22 January 2016. We show that despite a core electron parallel anisotropy, lion roars can be generated locally in the range 0.05–0.2fce by the perpendicular anisotropy of electrons in a particular energy range. We also show that intense lion roars can be observed up to higher frequencies due to the sharp nonlinear peaks of the signal, which appear as sharp spikes in the dynamic spectra. As a result, a high sampling rate is needed to estimate correctly their amplitude, and the latter might have been underestimated in previous studies using lower time resolution instruments. We also present for the first‐time 3‐D high time resolution electron velocity distribution functions in mirror modes. We demonstrate that the dynamics of electrons trapped in the mirror mode structures are consistent with the Kivelson and Southwood (1996) model. However, these electrons can also interact with the embedded lion roars: first signatures of electron quasi‐linear pitch angle diffusion and possible signatures of nonlinear interaction with high‐amplitude wave packets are presented. These processes can lead to electron untrapping from mirror modes.

Lower Hybrid Drift Waves and Electromagnetic Electron Space‐Phase Holes Associated With Dipolarization Fronts and Field‐Aligned Currents Observed by the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission During a Substorm

We analyse two ion scale dipolarization fronts associated with field-aligned currents detected by the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission during a large substorm on August 10, 2016. The first event corresponds to a fast dawnward flow with an anti-parallel current and could be generated by the wake of a previous fast earthward flow. It is associated with intense lower-hybrid drift waves detected at the front and propagating dawnward with a perpendicular phase speed close to the electric drift and the ion thermal velocity. The second event corresponds to a flow reversal: from southwward/dawnward to northward/duskward associated with a parallel current consistent with a brief expansion of the plasma sheet before the front crossing, and with a smaller lower-hybrid drift wave activity. Electromagnetic electron phase-space holes are detected near these low-frequency drift waves during both events. The drift waves could accelerate electrons parallel to the magnetic field and produce the parallel electron drift needed to generate the electron holes. Yet, we cannot rule out the possibility that the drift waves are produced by the anti-parallel current associated with the fast flows, leaving the source for the electron holes unexplained.

Supporting the missions of the Mauna Kea Observatories with GroundWinds incoherent UV lidar measurements

The recently commissioned GroundWinds LIDAR Observatory, based at ~3300 m on the slope of Mauna Loa, can measure altitude resolved line-of-sight wind velocities, turbulence power spectra, aerosol content and faint cirrus clouds among other things of interest to astronomers. The overarching goal of the GroundWinds program is to develop and demonstrate incoherent ultra-violet LIDAR technology for a future space-based system to measure the vertical structure of global winds from molecular backscatter. The LIDAR observatory employs spectral line profiling of incoherent backscattered 355 nm laser light. Rapid measurement of the Doppler shift (400 ns resolution) is accomplished by feeding the returned laser light into a combination of two Fabry-Perot etalons and collapsing the interference fringes into a 1-dimensional interference pattern using a conical optic. This allows the system to obtain the maximum signal-to-noise ratio and best vertical resolution given the performance of the CCD. Each measurement takes 10 s. The molecular return is strong up to 15-km altitude. The YAG laser is pulsed at 10 Hz, and each pulse is stretched to 50 ns; the average power dissipated is 5 W. The outgoing beam is expanded to match the field of view of the telescope. The Doppler shift as a function of altitude, measured along two lines of sight orthogonal to one another, is then used to determine the horizontal wind velocity as a function of altitude. A recent intercomparison campaign demonstrated the accuracy of the GroundWinds instrument. In addition to average wind measurements intended for global winds, the LIDAR can be operated with a short integration time and used to directly measure turbulence spectra over a range of elevations. The turbulence spectra are used to approximate the velocity turbulence parameter, Cv2, and turbulent dissipation. A recent comparison with an independent measurement of CT2 has shown good agreement. Data from the incoherent LIDAR are used in a custom forecasting project (Mauna Kea Weather Center: http://hokukea.soest.hawaii.edu) that provides operational support for the world-class group of astronomical observatories located on the summit of Mauna Kea. The LIDAR data are used to help prepare wind and turbulence nowcasts/forecasts for the summit of Mauna Kea (~4000 m) and as input for an operational mesoscale numerical weather prediction model (MM5). Clear-air turbulence in both the free atmosphere and in the summit boundary layer causes phase distortions to incoming electromagnetic wave fronts, resulting in motion, intensity fluctuations (scintillation), and blurring of images obtained by ground-based telescopes. Astronomical parameters that quantify these effects are generically referred to as seeing. Seeing improves or degrades with changes in the vertical location and strength of turbulence as quantified by profiles of the refractive index structure function Cn2. Cn2 fluctuations usually occur at scales that are too small for routine direct measurement, but they can be parameterized from vertical gradients in wind, temperature, and moisture in our MM5 runs. Seeing at a particular wavelength is then calculated by vertically integrating the Cn2 profile. LIDAR wind profiles represent an important data resource for nowcasting seeing, input for MM5 initial conditions and algorithm refinement, and for forecast verification.