Journal article
Nightside Auroral Electrons at Mars: Upstream Drivers and Ionospheric Impact
Journal of geophysical research. Space physics, Vol.127(9), e2022JA030801
09/2022
DOI: 10.1029/2022JA030801
Abstract
Discrete aurorae have been observed at Mars by multiple spacecraft, including Mars Express, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN), and most recently the United Arab Emirates Hope spacecraft. Meanwhile, there have been studies on the source particles responsible for producing these detectable aurorae (termed "auroral electrons"). By utilizing empirical criteria to select auroral electrons established by Xu et al. (2022, ), we conduct statistical analyses of the impact of upstream drivers on the occurrence rate and fluxes of auroral electrons. We find the occurrence rate increases with upstream dynamic pressure and weakly depends on the interplanetary magnetic field strength. Meanwhile, the integrated auroral electron flux somewhat decreases with increasing upstream drivers. Auroral electron precipitation also occurs more frequently and is more intense over regions of strong crustal fields compared to weak crustal fields. Aside from emissions, auroral electrons are expected to cause significant impact ionization and enhance the plasma density locally. In this study, we also quantify the nightside ionospheric impact of auroral electron precipitation, specifically the thermal ion (O+, O-2(+), and CO2+) density enhancement, with MAVEN observations. Our results show that the ion density is increased by up to an order of magnitude at low altitudes. The crustal effects on ion density profiles for nominal electron and auroral electron precipitation are also discussed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Nightside Auroral Electrons at Mars: Upstream Drivers and Ionospheric Impact
- Creators
- Shaosui Xu - University of California, BerkeleyDavid L. Mitchell - Univ Calif Berkeley, Space Sci Lab, Berkeley, CA 94720 USAJames P. McFadden - University of California, BerkeleyChristopher M. Fowler - West Virginia UniversityKathleen Hanley - University of California, BerkeleyTristan Weber - Goddard Space Flight CenterDavid A. Brain - University of Colorado BoulderGina A. DiBraccio - Goddard Space Flight CenterMichael W. Liemohn - University of MichiganRobert J. Lillis - University of California, BerkeleyJasper S. Halekas - University of IowaSuranga Ruhunusiri - University of IowaLaila Andersson - University of Colorado BoulderChristian Mazelle - Centre National d'Études SpatialesShannon M. Curry - University of California, Berkeley
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of geophysical research. Space physics, Vol.127(9), e2022JA030801
- DOI
- 10.1029/2022JA030801
- ISSN
- 2169-9380
- eISSN
- 2169-9402
- Publisher
- Amer Geophysical Union
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- NASA through the Mars Exploration Program French space agency CNES (National Centre for Space Studies) NNH10CC04C / National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) 80NSSC17K0455 / NASA's Mars Data Analysis Program; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/2022
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984428764302771
Metrics
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