Small-scale structures in flickering aurora

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 35; no. 23; pp. L23103 - n/a
• Main Authors: Whiter, D. K., Lanchester, B. S., Gustavsson, B., Ivchenko, N., Sullivan, J. M., Dahlgren, H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Geophysical Union 01.12.2008; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: aligned electron flux; Auroral ionosphere; Auroral phenomena; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; flickering aurora; ion-cyclotron waves; Ionosphere; Magnetospheric Physics; Particle precipitation; Plasma waves and instabilities; small-scale aurora; small-scale aurora; flickering aurora; Aurorae; Alfven wave; Spatial correlation; Small scale structure; theory; frequency
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2008GL036134

A state‐of‐the‐art multispectral imager has been used to study the flickering component of an auroral event at high spatial (40 m) and temporal (32 fps) resolution. Scale sizes for the flickering patches were found to be regularly smaller than 1 km. The typical flickering frequency observed was in the range 6–8 Hz, although flickering patches at both lower and higher frequencies were identified. The flickering structure was correlated with the coincident non‐flickering aurora, showing that although there is a temporal relationship between the two, there is no spatial correlation. These results support the theory that flickering structure is caused by interfering dispersive Alfvén waves.