Monday

Recent research into F-region ion-neutral coupling has shown a stark increase in strength of the ion drag force due to ionisation brought about by the aurora. During auroral activity, mesoscale thermospheric winds are able to respond to changes in the ionospheric plasma drift on the order of minutes as opposed to hours. This has implications for the amount of energy deposited into the atmosphere via Joule heating, as well as the amount of atmospheric drag imposed on low Earth orbiting satellites. In this study, we present the first observations of dayside neutral winds under the influence of poleward moving auroral forms. We additionally use data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) and EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) to compare ion drag response times before and after the auroral forms start, along with resultant Joule heating rates.