Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere

Shyeh Tjing Loi; Tara Murphy; Iver H. Cairns; Frederick W. Menk; Colin L. Waters; Philip J. Erickson; Cathryn M. Trott; Natasha Hurley-Walker; John Morgan; Emil Lenc; André R. Offringa; Martin E. Bell; Ronald D. Ekers; B. M. Gaensler; Colin J. Lonsdale; Lu Feng; Paul J. Hancock; David L. Kaplan; G. Bernardi; J. D. Bowman; F. Briggs; R. J. Cappallo; A. A. Deshpande; L. J. Greenhill; B. J. Hazelton; M. Johnston-Hollitt; S. R. McWhirter; D. A. Mitchell; M. F. Morales; E. Morgan; D. Oberoi; S. M. Ord; T. Prabu; N. Udaya Shankar; K. S. Srivani; R. Subrahmanyan; S. J. Tingay; R. B. Wayth; R. L. Webster; A. Williams; C. L. Williams

doi:10.1002/2015GL063699

Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere

Shyeh Tjing Loi^*, Tara Murphy, Iver H. Cairns, Frederick W. Menk, Colin L. Waters, Philip J. Erickson, Cathryn M. Trott, Natasha Hurley-Walker, John Morgan, Emil Lenc, André R. Offringa, Martin E. Bell, Ronald D. Ekers, B. M. Gaensler, Colin J. Lonsdale, Lu Feng, Paul J. Hancock, David L. Kaplan, G. Bernardi, J. D. BowmanF. Briggs, R. J. Cappallo, A. A. Deshpande, L. J. Greenhill, B. J. Hazelton, M. Johnston-Hollitt, S. R. McWhirter, D. A. Mitchell, M. F. Morales, E. Morgan, D. Oberoi, S. M. Ord, T. Prabu, N. Udaya Shankar, K. S. Srivani, R. Subrahmanyan, S. J. Tingay, R. B. Wayth, R. L. Webster, A. Williams, C. L. Williams

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

70 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by sunlight forms a complex, multilayered plasma environment within the Earth's magnetosphere, the innermost layers being the ionosphere and plasmasphere. The plasmasphere is believed to be embedded with cylindrical density structures (ducts) aligned along the Earth's magnetic field, but direct evidence for these remains scarce. Here we report the first direct wide-angle observation of an extensive array of field-aligned ducts bridging the upper ionosphere and inner plasmasphere, using a novel ground-based imaging technique. We establish their heights and motions by feature tracking and parallax analysis. The structures are strikingly organized, appearing as regularly spaced, alternating tubes of overdensities and underdensities strongly aligned with the Earth's magnetic field. These findings represent the first direct visual evidence for the existence of such structures.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3707-3714
Number of pages	8
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	42
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063699
Publication status	Published - 28 May 2015

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Loi, S. T., Murphy, T., Cairns, I. H., Menk, F. W., Waters, C. L., Erickson, P. J., Trott, C. M., Hurley-Walker, N., Morgan, J., Lenc, E., Offringa, A. R., Bell, M. E., Ekers, R. D., Gaensler, B. M., Lonsdale, C. J., Feng, L., Hancock, P. J., Kaplan, D. L., Bernardi, G., ... Williams, C. L. (2015). Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere. Geophysical Research Letters, 42(10), 3707-3714. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063699

@article{efa8a1f600104517a73f449ced466e18,

title = "Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere",

abstract = "Ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by sunlight forms a complex, multilayered plasma environment within the Earth's magnetosphere, the innermost layers being the ionosphere and plasmasphere. The plasmasphere is believed to be embedded with cylindrical density structures (ducts) aligned along the Earth's magnetic field, but direct evidence for these remains scarce. Here we report the first direct wide-angle observation of an extensive array of field-aligned ducts bridging the upper ionosphere and inner plasmasphere, using a novel ground-based imaging technique. We establish their heights and motions by feature tracking and parallax analysis. The structures are strikingly organized, appearing as regularly spaced, alternating tubes of overdensities and underdensities strongly aligned with the Earth's magnetic field. These findings represent the first direct visual evidence for the existence of such structures.",

keywords = "Murchison Widefield Array, field aligned, ionosphere, radio telescope, whistler duct",

author = "Loi, {Shyeh Tjing} and Tara Murphy and Cairns, {Iver H.} and Menk, {Frederick W.} and Waters, {Colin L.} and Erickson, {Philip J.} and Trott, {Cathryn M.} and Natasha Hurley-Walker and John Morgan and Emil Lenc and Offringa, {Andr{\'e} R.} and Bell, {Martin E.} and Ekers, {Ronald D.} and Gaensler, {B. M.} and Lonsdale, {Colin J.} and Lu Feng and Hancock, {Paul J.} and Kaplan, {David L.} and G. Bernardi and Bowman, {J. D.} and F. Briggs and Cappallo, {R. J.} and Deshpande, {A. A.} and Greenhill, {L. J.} and Hazelton, {B. J.} and M. Johnston-Hollitt and McWhirter, {S. R.} and Mitchell, {D. A.} and Morales, {M. F.} and E. Morgan and D. Oberoi and Ord, {S. M.} and T. Prabu and Shankar, {N. Udaya} and Srivani, {K. S.} and R. Subrahmanyan and Tingay, {S. J.} and Wayth, {R. B.} and Webster, {R. L.} and A. Williams and Williams, {C. L.}",

year = "2015",

month = may,

day = "28",

doi = "10.1002/2015GL063699",

language = "English",

volume = "42",

pages = "3707--3714",

journal = "Geophysical Research Letters",

issn = "0094-8276",

publisher = "John Wiley & Sons Inc.",

number = "10",

}

Loi, ST, Murphy, T, Cairns, IH, Menk, FW, Waters, CL, Erickson, PJ, Trott, CM, Hurley-Walker, N, Morgan, J, Lenc, E, Offringa, AR, Bell, ME, Ekers, RD, Gaensler, BM, Lonsdale, CJ, Feng, L, Hancock, PJ, Kaplan, DL, Bernardi, G, Bowman, JD, Briggs, F, Cappallo, RJ, Deshpande, AA, Greenhill, LJ, Hazelton, BJ, Johnston-Hollitt, M, McWhirter, SR, Mitchell, DA, Morales, MF, Morgan, E, Oberoi, D, Ord, SM, Prabu, T, Shankar, NU, Srivani, KS, Subrahmanyan, R, Tingay, SJ, Wayth, RB, Webster, RL, Williams, A & Williams, CL 2015, 'Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere', Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 3707-3714. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063699

TY - JOUR

T1 - Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere

AU - Loi, Shyeh Tjing

AU - Murphy, Tara

AU - Cairns, Iver H.

AU - Menk, Frederick W.

AU - Waters, Colin L.

AU - Erickson, Philip J.

AU - Trott, Cathryn M.

AU - Hurley-Walker, Natasha

AU - Morgan, John

AU - Lenc, Emil

AU - Offringa, André R.

AU - Bell, Martin E.

AU - Ekers, Ronald D.

AU - Gaensler, B. M.

AU - Lonsdale, Colin J.

AU - Feng, Lu

AU - Hancock, Paul J.

AU - Kaplan, David L.

AU - Bernardi, G.

AU - Bowman, J. D.

AU - Briggs, F.

AU - Cappallo, R. J.

AU - Deshpande, A. A.

AU - Greenhill, L. J.

AU - Hazelton, B. J.

AU - Johnston-Hollitt, M.

AU - McWhirter, S. R.

AU - Mitchell, D. A.

AU - Morales, M. F.

AU - Morgan, E.

AU - Oberoi, D.

AU - Ord, S. M.

AU - Prabu, T.

AU - Shankar, N. Udaya

AU - Srivani, K. S.

AU - Subrahmanyan, R.

AU - Tingay, S. J.

AU - Wayth, R. B.

AU - Webster, R. L.

AU - Williams, A.

AU - Williams, C. L.

PY - 2015/5/28

Y1 - 2015/5/28

N2 - Ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by sunlight forms a complex, multilayered plasma environment within the Earth's magnetosphere, the innermost layers being the ionosphere and plasmasphere. The plasmasphere is believed to be embedded with cylindrical density structures (ducts) aligned along the Earth's magnetic field, but direct evidence for these remains scarce. Here we report the first direct wide-angle observation of an extensive array of field-aligned ducts bridging the upper ionosphere and inner plasmasphere, using a novel ground-based imaging technique. We establish their heights and motions by feature tracking and parallax analysis. The structures are strikingly organized, appearing as regularly spaced, alternating tubes of overdensities and underdensities strongly aligned with the Earth's magnetic field. These findings represent the first direct visual evidence for the existence of such structures.

AB - Ionization of the Earth's atmosphere by sunlight forms a complex, multilayered plasma environment within the Earth's magnetosphere, the innermost layers being the ionosphere and plasmasphere. The plasmasphere is believed to be embedded with cylindrical density structures (ducts) aligned along the Earth's magnetic field, but direct evidence for these remains scarce. Here we report the first direct wide-angle observation of an extensive array of field-aligned ducts bridging the upper ionosphere and inner plasmasphere, using a novel ground-based imaging technique. We establish their heights and motions by feature tracking and parallax analysis. The structures are strikingly organized, appearing as regularly spaced, alternating tubes of overdensities and underdensities strongly aligned with the Earth's magnetic field. These findings represent the first direct visual evidence for the existence of such structures.

KW - Murchison Widefield Array

KW - field aligned

KW - ionosphere

KW - radio telescope

KW - whistler duct

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84931569182&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/2015GL063699

DO - 10.1002/2015GL063699

M3 - Article

SN - 0094-8276

VL - 42

SP - 3707

EP - 3714

JO - Geophysical Research Letters

JF - Geophysical Research Letters

IS - 10

ER -

Real-time imaging of density ducts between the plasmasphere and ionosphere

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