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American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Research Letters, 16(38), p. n/a-n/a, 2011

DOI: 10.1029/2011gl048302

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Extreme Poynting flux in the dayside thermosphere: Examples and statistics: EXTREME DAYSIDE POYNTING FLUX

Journal article published in 2011 by D. Knipp, S. Eriksson ORCID, L. Kilcommons, G. Crowley, J. Lei, M. Hairston, K. Drake
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

With the launch of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F-15 spacecraft in late 1999, data for calculating Earth-directed, magnetospheric Poynting flux became available for the 09-21 solar local time sectors. We have assembled a data base for this key element of the upper atmosphere energy budget, for the interval 2000-2005. Here we briefly introduce the data set and show a subset that reveals a pattern of extreme Poynting flux deposition associated with a large east-west interplanetary magnetic field component. At such times the dayside high-latitude Poynting flux may exceed 170 mW/m 2an order of magnitude above typical values. The likely source of these events is merging at the magnetopause flank and lobe. A significant fraction of these events occur with high speed solar wind. This pattern of extreme Poynting flux deposition has, to date, eluded detection. Energy deposition at these high rates is a likely source of previously reported, but poorly understood, near-cusp neutral density enhancements.