Using data from ESA’s Swarm satellites, together with those from the US–German GRACE mission and from ground-based instrument networks, scientists have measured atmospheric density changes resulting from auroral Joule heating during 276 geomagnetic storms between 2010 and 2024.
Such dramatic shifts in Earth’s upper atmosphere associated to geomagnetic activity are described as “hot flushes.” These rapid and localized heating events—triggered by energy from the Sun—can now be better understood thanks to Swarm’s high-resolution measurements of magnetic and electric fields.
These outcomes of the JOIN (JOule heating effects on Ionosphere-thermosphere coupling and Neutral density) project not only sheds light on how space weather influences our atmosphere but could also help improve predictions of satellite drag and orbital decay.
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