Empirical Relationship Between Electron Precipitation and Far-Ultraviolet Auroral Emissions From DMSP Observations

Auroral emissions observed in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) wavelength range are correlated with measurements of the coincident precipitating electrons and ions that produce the emissions. The auroral emissions and particle precipitation are observed with the SSUSI and SSJ5 detectors, respectively, both onboard the DMSP F16 satellite. Coincident observations along the same magnetic field line in the northern hemisphere are assembled from two consecutive winters (during 2005-2007). Numerical fits provide empirical relationships between the electron energy flux and the intensity of LBHL emissions, and between the average electron energy and the LBHS to LBHL emission ratio. The resulting empirical relationships permit the energy flux and average energy of precipitating electrons to be inferred from FUV imagery, in the absence of significant ion precipitation.