Alfvénic Heating in the Cusp Ionosphere‐Thermosphere

Abstract

The effect of electromagnetic variability on cusp‐region ionosphere‐thermosphere heating is examined. The study is motivated by observed correlations between anomalous thermospheric density enhancements at F region altitudes and small‐scale field‐aligned currents, previously interpreted as evidence of ionospheric Alfvén resonator modes. Height‐integrated and height‐dependent heating rates for Alfvén waves incident from the magnetosphere at frequencies from 0.05 to 2 Hz and perpendicular wavelengths from 0.5 to 20 km have been calculated. The velocity well in Alfvén speed surrounding the F region plasma density maximum facilitates energy deposition by slowing, trapping, and intensifying resonant waves. The Alfvénic Joule heating rate maximizes at the resulting resonances. F region Joule heating resulting from quasistatic and Alfvénic variability with the same root‐mean‐square amplitude in the F region are shown to be comparable. At the same time, Alfvénic variability deposits little electromagnetic power in the E region, whereas quasistatic variability greatly enhances E region heating. When measured electric and magnetic fields are used to constrain the amplitude and spectral content of superposed Alfvén waves incident from the magnetosphere, the calculated F region heating rate ranges from 5 to 10 nW/m3.