Winter cross polar cap current estimation

Digital ionosonde and magnetometer observations from a polar cap station are used to estimate the fraction of Region 1 current that flows across the polar cap. For a winter case study using data for 2001 Feb 18 the cross-cap current was 3.9 × 104 A Pedersen current and 6 × 104 A Hall current. This total current is only a small percentage, ∼5%, of the Region 1 current.