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Ann Geophys 2018 9;36(1):13-24. Epub 2018 Jan 9.

formerly at: Physical Sciences Division, SRI International, Menlo Park, California, USA.

The question of whether mesospheric OH() rotational population distributions are in equilibrium with the local kinetic temperature has been debated over several decades. Despite several indications for the existence of non-equilibrium effects, the general consensus has been that emissions originating from low rotational levels are thermalized. Sky spectra simultaneously observing several vibrational levels demonstrated reproducible trends in the extracted OH() rotational temperatures as a function of vibrational excitation. Read More

Ann Geophys 2016 24;34(10):901-915. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

The Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20723, USA.

ESA's Swarm constellation mission makes it possible for the first time to determine field-aligned currents (FACs) in the ionosphere uniquely. In particular at high latitudes, the dual-satellite approach can reliably detect some FAC structures which are missed by the traditional single-satellite technique. These FAC events occur preferentially poleward of the auroral oval and during times of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientation. Read More