Pulsating proton aurora caused by rising tone Pc1 waves

Abstract We found rising tone emissions with a dispersion of ∼1 Hz per several tens of seconds in the dynamic spectrum of a Pc1 geomagnetic pulsation (Pc1) observed on the ground. These Pc1 rising tones were successively observed over ∼30 min from 0250 UT on 14 October 2006 by an induction magnetometer at Athabasca, Canada (54.7°N, 246.7°E, magnetic latitude 61.7°N). Simultaneously, a Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms panchromatic (THEMIS) all‐sky camera detected pulsations of an isolated proton aurora with a period of several tens of seconds, ∼10% variations in intensity, and fine structures of 3° in magnetic longitudes. The pulsations of the proton aurora close to the zenith of ATH have one‐to‐one correspondences with the Pc1 rising tones. This suggests that these rising tones scatter magnetospheric protons intermittently at the equatorial region. The radial motion of the magnetospheric source, of which the isolated proton aurora is a projection, can explain the central frequency increase of Pc1, but not the shorter period (tens of seconds) frequency increase of ∼1 Hz in Pc1 rising tones. We suggest that EMIC‐triggered emissions generate the frequency increase of Pc1 rising tones on the ground and that they also cause the Pc1 pearl structure, which has a similar characteristic time.