Characteristics of a HSS-driven magnetic storm in the high-latitude ionosphere; A case study of 14th of March 2016 storm

Abstract

<p> Solar wind High-Speed Streams (HSSs) affect the auroral ionosphere in many ways, and several separate studies have been conducted of the different effects seen e.g. on aurora, geomagnetic disturbances, F-region behavior, and energetic particle precipitation. In this work, we study an HSS event in the solar cycle (24), which was associated with a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) that hit the Earth’s magnetopause at about 17:20 UT on 14 March 2016. The associated magnetic storm lasted for seven days, and the Dst index reached -56 nT. We use a very comprehensive set of measurements to study the whole period of this storm, following day by day for the magnetic indices and solar wind parameters and relating its consequences on ionospheric plasma parameters. We use EISCAT radar data from Tromsø and Svalbard stations to see the response in plasma parameters at different altitudes, riometer data for cosmic noise absorption, and IMAGE magnetometers to see the intensities of auroral electrojets. TomoScand ionospheric tomography provides us with electron densities over a wide region in Scandinavia and AMPERE data the global field-aligned currents. We identified 13 local substorms in the Scandinavian sector from the IL (IMAGE lower) index. Altogether, there were 11 global substorms, for which the AE index reaches 1000 nT. We discuss the development of currents, as well as E and D region precipitation during the course of this long-duration storm and compare local versus global behavior.</p>