Fabry-Perot spectrometer observations of the auroral oval/polar cap boundary above Mawson, Antarctica

Abstract

Zenith observations of the oxygen λ1630 nm auroral/airglow emission (produced at an altitude of ∼220 to ∼250 km) were obtained with the Mawson Fabry-Perot Spectrometer (FPS) during three ‘zenith direction only’ observing campaigns in 1993. The data show many instances of strong (50 to 100 m s⁻¹) upwellings in the vertical wind, when the auroral oval is located equatorward of the zenith. Our data appear consistent with the existence of a region of upwelling up to ∼ 4° poleward of the poleward boundary of the visible auroral oval, rather than short duration, explosive heating events. The upwellings are probably the vertical component of wind shear produced by reversal of the zonal thermospheric winds, which occurs near the poleward boundary of the visible auroral oval. Zenith temperature was also seen to increase when the oval was equatorward of Mawson, showing rises of up to 300 K or more. However, this increase is at times unrelated to the upwellings, and seems to be caused by the expansion of the warm polar cap over the observing site.

On a number of nights the boundary between the polar cap and the auroral oval was observed to pass over our site several times, occasionally showing a quasi-periodic expansion and contraction. We speculate that this quasi-periodic movement may be related to periodic auroral activity that is known to generate large-scale gravity waves.