Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Field-aligned (Birkeland) currents

  • Published:
Space Science Reviews Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Following earlier suggestions of Edmond Halley and Anders Celsius for the “magnetic behavior” of auroral phenomena, Kristian Birkeland discovered in his polar expeditions of 1902–03 that large-scale electric currents were associated with the aurora. He was also the first to suggest that these currents originated far from earth and that they flowed into the upper polar atmosphere and out of it along magnetic field lines; the existence of such field-aligned currents was widely disputed until satellite and rocket-borne instruments confirmed their permanent existence. The importance of these “Birkeland currents” to the coupling between the magnetosphere and the polar ionosphere is emphasized by their intensity, which ranges between 106 and 107 amperes, and by the energy which they dissipate in the upper atmosphere, which can exceed by a considerable factor the energy dissipated there by auroral particles. The large- and small-scale average properties of field-aligned currents, determined from spacecraft observations, are reviewed here.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alfvén, H. 1939, Kungl. Sv. Vet.-Akademiens Handl., 18, No. 3.

  • Araki, T., Kamei, T., and Iyemori, T. 1984, Geophys. Res. Lett., 11, 23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbosa, D. D., Scarf, F. L., Kurth, W. S., and Gurnett, D. A. 1981, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 8357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birkeland, K. 1908, The Norwegian Aurora Polaris Expedition, 1902–03, Aschehoug, Oslo, Norway.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, W. J., Kelley, M. C., Sagalyn, R. C., Smiddy, M., and Lai, S. T. 1979, Geophys. Res. Lett., 6, 21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, W. J., Hardy, D. A., Rich, F. J., Kelly, M. C., Smiddy, M., Shuman, B., Sagalyn, R. C., Vancour, R. P., Wipman, P. J. L., and Lai, S. T. 1980, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 1179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, W. J., Silevitch, M., and Hardy, D. A. 1983, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 3127.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bythrow, P. F., Potemra, T. A., Hanson, W. B., Zanetti, L. J., Meng, C. I., Huffman, R. E., Rich, F. J., and Hardy, D. A. 1984, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 9114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cattell, Cynthia 1981, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 3641.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, S. 1935, Terr. Magn. Atmos. Electr., 40, 349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, S., and Bartels, J. 1940, Geomagnetism, Vols. I and II, Oxford Press.

  • Chapman, S. 1968, Ann. Geophys., 24, 497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cummings, W. D., and Dessler, A. J. 1967, J. Geophys. Res., 72, 1007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doyle, M. A., Rich, F. J., Burke, W. J., and Smiddy, M. 1981, J. Geophys. Res., 86, 5656.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engebretson, M. J., Cahill, L. J., Potemra, T. A., Zanetti, L. J., Arnoldy, R. L., Mende, S. B., and Rosenberg, T. J. 1984, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 1602.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldstein, Y. I. 1966, Planet. & Space Sci., 14, 121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gizler, V. A., Semenov, V. S., Troshichev, O. A. 1977, EOS, (Abstract) 58, 719.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green, J. L., Gurnett, D. A., Saflekos, N. A., and Potemra, T. A. 1979, J. Geophys. Res., (submitted).

  • Heelis, R. A., Hanson, W. B., and Burch, J. L. 1976, J. Geophys. Res., 81, 3803.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heppner, J. P. 1972, J. Geophys. Res., 77, 4877.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heppner, J. P. 1973, Radio Sci., 8, 933.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, T., and Potemra, T. A. 1976a, J. Geophys. Res., 81, 2165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, T., and Potemra, T. A. 1976b, J. Geophys. Res., 81, 5971.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, T., and Potemra, T. A. 1978, J. Geophys.Res., 83, 599.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, T., Fujii, R., Potemra, T. A., and Saflekos, N. 1978, J. Geophys. Res., 83, 5595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, T. 1983, in Magnetospheric Physics, Geophys. Monograph 28, 115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iijima, T., Potemra, T. A., Zanetti, L. J., and Bythrow, P. F. 1984, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 7441.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levitin, A. E., Belov, B. A., Afonina, R. G., Faermark, D. S. and Feldstein, Y. I. 1977, USSR Academy of Sciences IZMIRAN Preprint N 17a.

  • Mansurov, S. M. 1969, Geomagn. Aeron., 9, 622.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDiarmid, I. B., Burrows, J. R., and Wilson, M. D. 1978a, J. Geophys. Res., 83, 5753.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDiarmid, I. B., Burrows, J. R., and Wilson, M. D. 1978b, J. Geophys. Res., 83, 681.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDiarmid, I. B., Burrows, J. R., and Wilson, M. D. 1979, J. Geophys. Res., 84, 1431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogino, T. and Walker, R. J. 1984, EOS, 65, 1057.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogino, T., Walker, R. J., and Ashour-Abdalla 1984, EOS, 65, 1063.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potemra, T. A., and Saflekos, N. A. 1979, Proc. of Magnetospheric Boundary Layers Conf., Alpbach, June 1979, 193.

  • Potemra, T. A. 1979, Rev. Geophys. Space Phys., 17, 640.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potemra, T. A., Iijima, T., and Saflekos, N. A. 1979, Dynamics of the Magnetosphere, ed. by S. I. Akasofu, D. Reidel Pub. Co., 165.

  • Potemra, T. A. 1980, in The Hall Effect and Its Applications, C. L. Chein and C. R. Westgate, eds., Plenum Pub. Co., N. Y., pp. 399–415.0

  • Potemra, T. A. 1983a, High-Latitude Space Plasma Physics, Plenum Publishing Co.

  • Potemra, T. A. 1983b, Johns Hopkins APL Technical Digest, 4, 276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Potemra, T. A., Zanetti, L. J., Bythrow, P. F., Lui, A. T. Y., and Iijima, T. 1984, 89, 9753.

  • Potemra, T. A. and Zanetti, L. J. 1985, Proc. of the NATO Advanced Workshop on Morphology and Dynamics of the Polar Cusp, ed. by J. A. Holtet and A. Egeland, D. Reidel Pub. Co.

  • Poulter, E. M. Nielsen, E. and Potemra, T. A. 1982, J. Geophys. Res., 87, 2331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiff, P. H., Burch, J. L., and Heelis, R. A. 1978, Geophys. Res. Lett., 5, 391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saflekos, N. A., Potemra, T. A., Kintner, Jr., P. M., and Green, J. Lauer 1979, J. Geophys. Res., 84, 1391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saflekos, N. A., and Potemra, T. A. 1980, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saflekos, N. A., Sheehan, R. E., and Carovillano, R. L. 1982, Rev. of Geophys. & Space Phys., 20, 709.

    Google Scholar 

  • Störmer, C. 1955, The Polar Aurora, Oxford Press.

  • Sugiura, M., and Potemra, T. A. 1976, J. Geophys. Res., 81, 2155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, M., Maynard, N. C., Farthing, W. H., Heppner, J. P., Ledley, B. G., and Cahill, Jr., L. J. 1982, Geophys. Res. Lett., 9, 985.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sugiura, M., Iyemori, T., Hoffman, R. A., Maynard, N. C., Burch, J. L., and J. D. Winningham 1983, in Magnetospheric Currents, Geophysical Monograph 28, edited by T. A. Potemra, 96.

  • Svalgaard, L. 1973, J. Geophys. Res., 78, 2064.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vestine, E. H., and Chapman, S. 1938, Terr. Magn. Atmos. Electr., 43, 351.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vickrey, James F., Rino, Charles L., and Potemra, Thomas A. 1980, Geophys. Res. Lett., 7, 789.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilhjelm, J. E., Christensen, E. Friis, and Potemra, T. A. 1978, J. Geophys. Res., 83, 5586.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zanetti, L. J., Potemra, T. A., Iijima, T., Baumjohann, W., and Bythrow, P. F. 1984, J. Geophys. Res., 89, 7453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zmuda, A. J., Martin, J. H., and Heuring, F. T. 1966, J. Geophys. Res., 71, 5033.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zmuda, A. J., Heuring, F. T., and Martin, J. H. 1967, J. Geophys. Res., 72, 1115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zmuda, A. J., and Armstrong, J. C. 1974a, J. Geophys. Res., 79, 2501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zmuda, A. J., and Armstrong, J. C. 1974b, J. Geophys. Res., 79, 4611.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 20707, Laurel, Maryland

    Thomas A. Potemra

Authors
  1. Thomas A. Potemra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Potemra, T.A. Field-aligned (Birkeland) currents. Space Sci Rev 42, 295–311 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00214990

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00214990

Keywords

Search

Navigation