The plasmas (electrons and ions) in the inner magnetosphere have wide energy ranges from electron volts to mega-electron volts (MeV). These plasmas rotate around the Earth longitudinally due to the gradient and curvature of the geomagnetic field and by the co-rotation motion with timescales from several tens of hours to less than 10 min. They interact with plasma waves at frequencies of mHz to kHz mainly in the equatorial plane of the magnetosphere, obtain energies up to MeV, and are lost into the ionosphere. In order to provide the global distribution and quantitative evaluation of the dynamical variation of these plasmas and waves in the inner magnetosphere, the PWING project (study of dynamical variation of particles and waves in the inner magnetosphere using ground-based network observations, http://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/dimr/PWING/ ) has been carried out since April 2016. This paper describes the stations and instrumentation of the PWING project. We operate all-sky airglow/aurora imagers, 64-Hz sampling induction magnetometers, 40-kHz sampling loop antennas, and 64-Hz sampling riometers at eight stations at subauroral latitudes (~ 60° geomagnetic latitude) in the northern hemisphere, as well as 100-Hz sampling EMCCD cameras at three stations. These stations are distributed longitudinally in Canada, Iceland, Finland, Russia, and Alaska to obtain the longitudinal distribution of plasmas and waves in the inner magnetosphere. This PWING longitudinal network has been developed as a part of the ERG (Arase)-ground coordinated observation network. The ERG (Arase) satellite was launched on December 20, 2016, and has been in full operation since March 2017. We will combine these ground network observations with the ERG (Arase) satellite and global modeling studies. These comprehensive datasets will contribute to the investigation of dynamical variation of particles and waves in the inner magnetosphere, which is one of the most important research topics in recent space physics, and the outcome of our research will improve safe and secure use of geospace around the Earth.

The electrified medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (EMSTIDs) occurring as geomagnetically conjugate features in the middle latitude F region ionosphere are studied using multi‐instrument observations. Airglow imaging of OI 630 nm emission over Sata, Japan, and Darwin, Australia, are used to identify the occurrence of EMSTIDs. Thermospheric wind measurements made with the Fabry‐Perot interferometer observations of OI 630 nm from Shigaraki, Japan, and Darwin, Australia, are used along with ionosonde observations over Yamagawa, Japan, and Darwin, Australia, to study the thermospheric and ionospheric characteristics. These are the first results from such multi‐instrument observations simultaneously made from geomagnetic conjugate locations. Our results show that the amplitudes of the EMSTIDs are often different between the hemispheres. Thermospheric meridional winds appear to control the EMSTID amplitudes in the respective hemisphere. However, EMSTIDs are generated only when there is significant sporadic E activity with foEs often reaching greater than 6 MHz and (foEs − fbEs) reaching above 5 MHz at least for a short duration occurred. Existence of strong sporadic E activity on one of the hemispheres is found to be sufficient enough for generation of EMSTIDs in the conjugate F regions. These results conclusively indicate the importance of sporadic E layers in the generation of EMSTIDs. Further, it shows the significance of interhemispheric coupling between the E and F region ionospheres in the formation of EMSTIDs while their amplitudes in the respective hemispheres appear to have control of thermospheric neutral winds in the same hemisphere.

The brightness of aurorae in Earth’s polar region often beats with periods ranging from sub-second to a few tens of a second. Past observations showed that the beat of the aurora is composed of a superposition of two independent periodicities that co-exist hierarchically. However, the origin of such multiple time-scale beats in aurora remains poorly understood due to a lack of measurements with sufficiently high temporal resolution. By coordinating experiments using ultrafast auroral imagers deployed in the Arctic with the newly-launched magnetospheric satellite Arase, we succeeded in identifying an excellent agreement between the beats in aurorae and intensity modulations of natural electromagnetic waves in space called “chorus”. In particular, sub-second scintillations of aurorae are precisely controlled by fine-scale chirping rhythms in chorus. The observation of this striking correlation demonstrates that resonant interaction between energetic electrons and chorus waves in magnetospheres orchestrates the complex behavior of aurora on Earth and other magnetized planets.

Pulsating auroras (PsAs) are thought to be generated by precipitating electrons scattered by lower‐band chorus (LBC) waves near the magnetic equator. One‐to‐one correlation between the LBC intensity and the PsA intensity has been reported. Electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves can also scatter electrons. However, direct correlation between ECH and PsA has not been reported yet. In this study, using a coordinated Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (Arase) satellite and ground‐based imager observation, we report that not only LBC but also ECH have correlation with PsA. We estimated the precipitating electron energy by assuming that the time lag when the cross‐correlation coefficient became the highest was travel time of electrons from the modulation region. We found that the estimated energies show reasonable values as the cyclotron resonance energy of each wave.