“…In the absence of geomagnetic disturbance one might naively expect the F region ion convection to follow the pattern of the background neutral winds; however, previous studies have not found this to be the case (Buonsanto et al, ). Likewise, the occurrence of penetration electric fields is mostly invoked under geomagnetically disturbed conditions (e.g., Blanc et al, ; Buonsanto et al, ; Yeh et al, ), but some studies have also reported the presence of penetration electric fields under quiet time conditions (e.g., Carpenter & Kirchhoff, ; Heelis & Coley, ; Lejosne & Mozer, ; Wand & Evans, ). Understanding the relative importance of these two mechanisms in driving plasma convection in the midlatitude region has been an important topic of ongoing research for decades, and this study is part of that effort, focusing on the subauroral midlatitude plasma convection under quiet geomagnetic conditions.…”