Duskside auroral undulations observed by IMAGE and their possible association with large-scale structures on the inner edge of the electron plasma sheet

On February 6, 2002 large-scale undulations along the equatorward edge of the afternoon/dusk auroral oval were observed with the IMAGE FUV/Wideband Imaging Camera (WIC) during the late expansion/recovery phase of a substorm. The undulations are similar to others previously reported, but occur at higher than usual latitudes and map to the outer duskside magnetosphere, 1 to 2 RE beyond a plasmaspheric drainage plume. The mapping suggests that the undulations result from large-scale fluctuations on the inner edge of the electron plasma sheet. 2.5-D simulations using representative plasma parameters for this region indicate that such large-scale coherent structures can be created by a kinetic drift wave driven by the ion pressure gradient in the destabilizing curvature and grad B drift of the plasma sheet ions.