Multi-Event Conjugate Measurements of the SAR Arc Detachment From the Auroral Oval Using DMSP Satellites and an All-Sky Camera at Athabasca, Canada

We report the first statistical study of stable auroral red (SAR) arcs detached from the main auroral oval during non-storm time, using multi-event conjugate measurements by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites (F13–F19) and a ground-based all-sky imager at Athabasca (Canada) (54.6°W, 246.36°Е, MLAT = 61.5°, MLON = 308.3°, L = 4.4). We found 63 events of detached SAR arc conjunctions with the DMSP satellites in the northern hemisphere and 18 events in the opposite southern hemisphere from 2006 to 2018. Measurements aboard DMSP satellites show that detached SAR arcs are in general associated with enhancements of electron temperature (60 cases) and electron density troughs (58 cases). Only 14 cases show strong horizontal flow associated with the detached SAR arcs, indicating that the strong plasma flow is not a necessary condition to cause the detached SAR arcs. The electron temperature measured by DMSP associated with detached SAR arcs positively correlates with F10.7 solar activity index. The measured emission intensities at 630.0 nm in the SAR arcs show a good correlation with the electron temperature. These results indicate that the detached SAR arcs during non-storm time are caused by heat flux from the magnetosphere associated with substorms, and their intensity depends on the background plasma condition in the ionosphere.