Particle observations of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) show that discrete auroral structures commonly exist in the region of the plasma mantle, but the optical features of the aurora generated by particles from the plasma mantle (called ‘mantle aurora’ in this paper) have not been established. A comparison of 7-year optical auroral observations made at the Yellow River Station with conjugate particle observations obtained from the DMSP confirm that mantle auroras have common features and can be clearly identified from all-sky imager observations. The mantle auroras normally present as sporadic and weak auroral structures split poleward of the dayside auroral oval. They are observed in both the green and red lines with the intensity of the red line being greater than that of the green line. In this paper, we illustrate typical mantle auroras and provide statistics on 55 mantle aurora cases that are confirmed by particle observation by the DMSP. Statistical results show that the occurrence of the mantle aurora has no clear dependence on the IMF By and Bz conditions, but the motion of the mantle aurora strongly depends on the IMF By , which indicates that the generation of the mantle aurora is intimately related to the dayside magnetopause reconnection. With the fundamental criteria for distinguishing the mantle aurora presented in this paper, we will be able to independently identify the mantle auroras from ground optical observations. This will allow us to investigate the physical processes that occur in the plasma mantle by monitoring the evolution of the auroral forms.

Citation: Han D S, Yang H G. Identification of optical auroras caused by mantle precipitation with the aid of particle observations from DMSP satellites. Adv Polar Sci, 2018, 29(4): 233-242, doi:10.13679/j.advps.2018.4.00233