SAPS intensification during substorm recovery: A multi-instrument case study

A case of the major intensification of the subauroral polarization stream (SAPS) during the substorm recovery phase is presented. The continuous high-time-resolution Doppler velocity measurements in the subauroral and auroral regions were conducted with the Unwin HF radar, and these are analyzed in the context of the simultaneous and coincident measurements of the auroral luminosity and the total electron content (TEC) by the IMAGE and GPS satellites. Additional information was provided by other SuperDARN radars, DMSP F15 satellite crossing the fully-developed SAPS region, ground-based measurements near the location of the substorm onset, and GOES and LANL satellites in the inner magnetosphere. The association between the SAPS and TEC trough is further substantiated at short timescales and TEC is shown to exhibit two distinct types of responses to substorm onset poleward of and within SAPS, with no evidence of a TEC decrease during SAPS intensification. It is argued that the positive feedback between the electric fields and electron densities was probably not responsible for the observed SAPS intensification. Moreover, it is proposed that the strong and steady plasma acceleration within SAPS may be triggered by a burst of auroral activity, rather than accompanied by a similarly steady variation in other observed parameters either in the ionosphere or in the inner magnetosphere. It is also argued that the SAPS intensification occurring during the recovery phase is not necessarily expected from the current models of the SAPS formation and evolution, but is consistent with the observationally-based view of a fully-developed SAPS as a substorm recovery phenomenon.