Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere
Abstract Auroral forms are like fingerprints linking optical features to physical phenomena in the near‐Earth space. While discovering new forms is rare, recently, scientists reported of citizens' observations of STEVE, a pinkish optical manifestation of subauroral ionospheric drifts that were...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2020-03-01
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| Series: | AGU Advances |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019AV000133 |
| _version_ | 1818539745245921280 |
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| author | M. Palmroth M. Grandin M. Helin P. Koski A. Oksanen M. A. Glad R. Valonen K. Saari E. Bruus J. Norberg A. Viljanen K. Kauristie P. T. Verronen |
| author_facet | M. Palmroth M. Grandin M. Helin P. Koski A. Oksanen M. A. Glad R. Valonen K. Saari E. Bruus J. Norberg A. Viljanen K. Kauristie P. T. Verronen |
| author_sort | M. Palmroth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Auroral forms are like fingerprints linking optical features to physical phenomena in the near‐Earth space. While discovering new forms is rare, recently, scientists reported of citizens' observations of STEVE, a pinkish optical manifestation of subauroral ionospheric drifts that were not thought to be visible to the naked eye. Here, we present a new auroral form named “the dunes”. On 7 October 2018, citizen observers took multiple digital photographs of the same dunes simultaneously from different locations in Finland and Sweden. We develop a triangulation method to analyze the photographs and conclude that the dunes are a monochromatic wave field with a wavelength of about 45 km within a thin layer at 100 km altitude. Supporting data suggest that the dunes manifest atmospheric waves, possibly mesospheric bores, which are rarely detected, and have not previously been observed via diffuse aurora nor at auroral latitudes and altitudes. The dunes present a new opportunity to investigate the coupling of the lower/middle atmosphere to the thermosphere and ionosphere. Our paper adds to the growing body of work that illustrates the value of citizen scientist images in carrying out quantitative analysis of optical phenomena, especially at small scales at subauroral latitudes. Further, the dune project presents means to create general interest toward physics, emphasizing that citizens can take part in scientific work by helping to uncover new phenomena. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T21:46:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-761ca33eaebb4cec952da0c322a5fa30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2576-604X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T21:46:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AGU Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-761ca33eaebb4cec952da0c322a5fa302022-12-22T00:49:36ZengWileyAGU Advances2576-604X2020-03-0111n/an/a10.1029/2019AV000133Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper AtmosphereM. Palmroth0M. Grandin1M. Helin2P. Koski3A. Oksanen4M. A. Glad5R. Valonen6K. Saari7E. Bruus8J. Norberg9A. Viljanen10K. Kauristie11P. T. Verronen12Department of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandDepartment of Physics University of Helsinki Helsinki FinlandCitizen Scientist FinlandCitizen Scientist FinlandHankasalmi Observatory, Jyväskylän Sirius ry Hankasalmi FinlandCitizen Scientist FinlandCitizen Scientist FinlandCitizen Scientist FinlandTaivaanvahti Service, Finnish Association of Amateur Astronomers (Ursa) Helsinki FinlandSpace and Earth Observation Centre Finnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandSpace and Earth Observation Centre Finnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandSpace and Earth Observation Centre Finnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandSpace and Earth Observation Centre Finnish Meteorological Institute Helsinki FinlandAbstract Auroral forms are like fingerprints linking optical features to physical phenomena in the near‐Earth space. While discovering new forms is rare, recently, scientists reported of citizens' observations of STEVE, a pinkish optical manifestation of subauroral ionospheric drifts that were not thought to be visible to the naked eye. Here, we present a new auroral form named “the dunes”. On 7 October 2018, citizen observers took multiple digital photographs of the same dunes simultaneously from different locations in Finland and Sweden. We develop a triangulation method to analyze the photographs and conclude that the dunes are a monochromatic wave field with a wavelength of about 45 km within a thin layer at 100 km altitude. Supporting data suggest that the dunes manifest atmospheric waves, possibly mesospheric bores, which are rarely detected, and have not previously been observed via diffuse aurora nor at auroral latitudes and altitudes. The dunes present a new opportunity to investigate the coupling of the lower/middle atmosphere to the thermosphere and ionosphere. Our paper adds to the growing body of work that illustrates the value of citizen scientist images in carrying out quantitative analysis of optical phenomena, especially at small scales at subauroral latitudes. Further, the dune project presents means to create general interest toward physics, emphasizing that citizens can take part in scientific work by helping to uncover new phenomena.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019AV000133space physicsauroraatmosphereionospherecitizen science |
| spellingShingle | M. Palmroth M. Grandin M. Helin P. Koski A. Oksanen M. A. Glad R. Valonen K. Saari E. Bruus J. Norberg A. Viljanen K. Kauristie P. T. Verronen Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere AGU Advances space physics aurora atmosphere ionosphere citizen science |
| title | Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere |
| title_full | Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere |
| title_fullStr | Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere |
| title_full_unstemmed | Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere |
| title_short | Citizen Scientists Discover a New Auroral Form: Dunes Provide Insight Into the Upper Atmosphere |
| title_sort | citizen scientists discover a new auroral form dunes provide insight into the upper atmosphere |
| topic | space physics aurora atmosphere ionosphere citizen science |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2019AV000133 |
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