Search

We quantitatively evaluated the Na density depletion due to charge transfer reactions between Na atoms and molecular ions produced by high-energy electron precipitation during a pulsating aurora (PsA). An extended period of PsA was captured by an all-sky camera at the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar Tromso site (69.6°N, 19.2°E) during a 2 h interval from 00:00 to 02:00 UT on 25 January 2012. During this period, using the EISCAT very high frequency (VHF) radar, we detected three intervals of intense ionization below 100 km that were probably caused by precipitation of high-energy electrons during the PsA. In these intervals, the sodium lidar at Tromso observed characteristic depletion of Na density at altitudes between 97 and 100 km. These Na density depletions lasted for 8 min and represented 5–8% of the background Na layer. To examine the cause of this depletion, we modeled the depletion rate based on charge transfer reactions with NO+ and O2+ while changing the R value which is defined as the ratio of NO+ to O2+ densities, from 1 to 10. The correlation coefficients between observed and modeled Na density depletion calculated with typical value R = 3 for time intervals T1, T2, and T3 were 0.66, 0.80, and 0.67, respectively. The observed Na density depletion rates fall within the range of modeled depletion rate calculated with R from 1 to 10. This suggests that the charge transfer reactions triggered by the auroral impact ionization at low altitudes are the predominant process responsible for Na density depletion during PsA intervals.

We report temporal variations of the partial column density of nitric oxide (NO) in an altitude range 75–105 km at Syowa Station, Antarctica, from January 2012 to September 2013. We found two patterns of NO temporal variation: (1) a seasonal cycle with a maximum in winter and a minimum in summer, and (2) short-term enhancements on a time frame of 5–10 days associated with solar activities. In the seasonal cycle, the variation pattern of NO showed good agreement with scotoperiod of solar radiation rather than the downwelling atmospheric transport, suggesting that photodissociation is the main driver of the seasonal variation. To study the short-term enhancements, we compared the NO column density with the proton and electron fluxes obtained by the POES/METOP (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite/Meteorological Operational) satellites. There is a weak but significant correlation between the NO and the electron flux, but no correlation between the NO and the proton flux. We also made a detailed comparison of the time series of NO and proton/electron fluxes for 12 selected 25-day time frames, and found that at least two remarkable NO enhancements occurred without any solar proton events (SPEs). During electron precipitation, the NO column density peaked 1–5 days after the commencement of geomagnetic storms, whereas the relationship between NO and the solar proton is not clear because the electron flux also increased at the same time. These results suggest that energetic electron precipitation may be a major cause of NO enhancements above Syowa Station in the auroral region, even during SPEs.