Ground-based Instrumentation

for RBSP Support & Science

John FosterMIT Haystack Observatory

MIT Millstone Hill

& IS Radars

Class I Instruments

Provide Detailed Local

Measurements

Distributed Instruments

Provide Global Context

(DASI)

Trough

SED

SAPS

DensityVelocity

Velocity

DensityVelocity

SAPS Channel

Onset: RC InjectionLow-Conductivity Trough

DMSP – Radars provided PBL – SAPS – Auroral Coverage

Plasmasheet

Plasmapause

SAPS

DMSP F15 6 April 2000 21 MLT

Trough

A Strong Electric Field forms in

the Low-Conductivity Region

between the Inner Edge of the

Plasmasheet Precipitation

and the Plasmapause

Plasmapause

2-Cell Convection

AURORAL

OVAL

LOW S

SAPS E FIELD

Ring Current / SAPS/ SED Plume(Sub Auroral Polarization Stream)

SAPS is a RESULT of Ring Current Enhancement

Duskside Region-2 FACs close

poleward across low-

conductance gap

SAPS: Strong poleward

Electric Fields are set up across

the sub-auroral ionosphere

SAPS erodes the cold plasma

of the ionosphere and the outer

plasmasphere

Statistical Study of SAPS

( Millstone Hill ISR)

[Foster & Vo, 2002]

Kp 5 Kp 4 Kp 6

Geospace is a System

System Science: Distributed RealtimeObservations Needed

Insufficient Data:New Instruments are Required

Multi-Instrument Collaboration provides New Views of Geospace

DASI: A Framework

for Community

Collaborative Research

Plasma Redistribution: A System-Science Model

Global Phenomenon:

Multi-Instrument

Observations Provide

Geophysical Context

and System Viewpoint

Merged SuperDARN/DMSP Convection

Common projection: maglat/MLT @ 350 km alt

GPS TEC Map

[Foster et al., JGR 2005]

Distributed Observations (e.g. GPS)

provide a Global View

GPS samples the ionosphere and plasmasphere to ~20,000 km.

Dual-frequency Faraday Rotation Observations give TEC

(Total Electron Content)

TEC is a measure of integrated density in a 1 m2 column

1 TEC unit = 1016 electrons m-2

Hundreds of

Ground-Based

Receivers

~30 satellites in

High Earth Orbit

TEC Sampled

Continuously along

Each Satellite-

Receiver Path

Distributed GB Instruments – Low-Altitude S/C

High Latitude ISRs

Detailed Regional Ionospheric Observations

EISCAT, Tromsø, Norway

1981, 1985

Sondrestrom, Greenland

(Chatanika, Alaska 1971)

AMISR, Poker Flat, Alaska

2007

EISCAT, Svalbard

1996

Regional DASI to address System ScienceSuperDARN (Polar, Auroral, Mid-Latitude), ISR, THEMIS GBO, ISIS, etc.

SuperDARN Exemplifies the Distributed Array Concept

SED Plumes produce

Strong SuperDARN HF BackscatterApril 11, 2001 (> 40 dB)

Saskatoon 19:50 UT

Kodiak 23:13 UT

GPS/TEC SED Plume

Ionospheric

Irregularities are

Necessary and

determine coverage

region

Complementary SuperDARN – GPS –DMSP - ISR

North Polar Coverage

Convection Snapshot derived from

SuperDARN and DMSP Observations

Polar Tongue of Ionization Observed by GPS

TEC and High-Latitude IS Radars

Mid-Latitude SuperDARNGlobal-Scale Ionospheric Electrodynamics and Processes

FHSU – 2009Hays, KS

OSU – 2010Corvallis, OR

2011Aleutian Islands, AK

2012Azore Islands, Portugal

Continuous Operational Support

GPS TEC

DMSP

SuperDARN HF Radars

Magnetometer Chains

ISIS passive radio monitors

AMISR ISRs (currently; reduced power ops)

Themis GBO

Open, Archived Data - MADRIGAL