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Science & Technology Review, the journal of China Association for Science & Technology (CAST), According to the principle of evaluating within each branch, with priority on achievement quality, 30 important scientific research achievements in China in 2006 are selected and introduced in time order in this journal.

“Chinese scientists establish why aurora shines”, A recent statistical study led by Professor Jinbin Cao, State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, CSSAR, was one of important advances of sciences in China in 2006 ,according by Science & Technology Review. 

Colourful auroras are caused mostly by energetic electrons spiralling down the Earth's magnetic field lines and colliding with atmospheric atoms at ~100 km altitude range. A substorm represents violent changes of the plasmasheet that energize and hurl earthward electrons and ions. A key issue about substorms is to determine the primary earthward transport mechanism of mass, energy and magnetic flux. One possible candidate is the phenomenon of Bursty Bulk Flow (BBF).Using observations of central plasma sheet collected by three satellites of the ESA Cluster mission during July - October of 2001 and 2002, Dr Cao and colleagues found 67 substorms and 209 BBFs.

 

"For the first time, it seems possible that all substorms are accompanied by BBFs", wrote Dr. Cao and colleagues in the Journal of Geophysical Research on 7 April 2006.

 

In the 30 important scientific research achievements in China in 2006, 13 are in basic research, 7 in life science, 4 in resource and environment research, and 6 in basic research directly related with high and new technologies.

 

For more information:

Jinbin Cao, Cluster Ion Spectrometer (CIS) Co-Investigator

State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, CSSAR, Beijing, China

Email: jbcao @ cssar.ac.cn

From：ESA’s Cluster mission establishes why Earth’s aurorae shine, 24 August 2006，www.esa.int