Polar Cusp Features Observed By DMSP Satellites

Abstract

Among various techniques to monitor the polar cusp region, the best available way is by using several low-altitude satellites all on the noon-midnight polar orbit to perform particle precipitation measurements. Fortunately, such an opportunity occurred in the USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). Two identical satellites had circular orbits in the noon-midnight meridian at ∼ 840 km altitude. Thus the polar cusp regions over both the northern and southern polar regions could be monitored with a temporal resolution of at least once every hour per hemisphere. In this paper, we will summarize recent findings of polar cusp characteristics and dynamics based on DMSP observations.