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Hemispheric Asymmetries in Poynting Flux Derived from DMSP Spacecraft
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  • DELORES KNIPP,
  • Liam Kilcommons,
  • Marc Hairston,
  • W. Robin Coley
DELORES KNIPP
University of Colorado, Boulder

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Liam Kilcommons
University of Colorado Boulder
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Marc Hairston
University of Texas Dallas
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W. Robin Coley
University of Texas Dallas
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Abstract

We provide high-resolution maps of quasi-static Poynting flux (PF) in each hemisphere based on nine-satellite years of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data. Conjugate comparisons from ~850 km reveal more quasi-static PF arriving in the northern hemisphere (NH) than the southern hemisphere (SH). This tendency is clear in the dawn-dusk sectors and during intervals when Kp < 3, which accounts for ~80% of the study interval. Summer-to-summer comparisons indicate this asymmetry is partially associated with more NH solar illumination, which supports stronger NH field-aligned currents (FAC). Differing hemispheric FAC configurations may also play a role. Our findings support and broaden earlier reports of similar NH preference for the deposition of Alfvenic PF. Regionally the NH has stronger dusk-region PF, while the SH has stronger mid-morning PF. We find PF deposition in the near-cusp regions that rivals and often exceeds the PF intensity in the auroral zones.
08 Sep 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 17. 10.1029/2021GL094781