[P-EM11] Coupling Processes in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System

[PEM11-26] Energetics of the neutral wind dynamo as observed by NASA's ICON mission

★Invited Papers

*Brian Harding¹、Thomas J Immel¹、Astrid I Maute⁵、Jeffrey Forbes⁴、Roderick Heelis³、Scott England²、Stephen Mende¹、Christoph Englert⁶、John Harlander⁷、Kenneth Marr⁶、Russell Stoneback³、Jonathan Makela⁸ (1.University of California Berkeley、2.Virginia Tech、3.UT Dallas、4.University of Colorado、5.UCAR、6.US Naval Research Laboratory、7.Space Sciences Research Corp、8.University of Illinois)

キーワード：neutral wind, dynamo, ion-neutral coupling, equatorial electrodynamics

We present results from the first year of NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission. ICON is the first mission to simultaneously observe the electric field (in situ at ~600 km altitude) and the neutral winds that drive it (90 - 300 km altitude). Specifically, we present data from ICON's unique "conjugate maneuver." During this maneuver, which lasts several minutes, ICON measures the electric field at the apex of a magnetic field line, and the neutral wind profiles at both the northern and southern footpoints of the field line. Over 100 maneuvers were performed in 2020, providing an unprecedented opportunity to study the energetics of the neutral-wind-driven dynamo.