ABSTRACT. We present the results of a multi-wavelength study of episodic plasma injection into the corona of active region (AR) 10942. We exploit long-exposure images of the Hinode and Transition Region and Coronal Explorer spacecraft to study the properties of faint, episodic, "blobs" of plasma that are propelled upward along coronal loops that are rooted in the AR plage. We find that the source location and characteristic velocities of these episodic upflow events match those expected from recent spectroscopic observations of faint coronal upflows that are associated with upper chromospheric activity, in the form of highly dynamic spicules. The analysis presented ties together observations from coronal and chromospheric spectrographs and imagers, providing more evidence of the connection of discrete coronal mass heating and injection events with their source, dynamic spicules, in the chromosphere.

Key words: Sun: chromosphere; Sun: corona; Sun: magnetic fields; Sun: transition region

Print publication: Issue 1 (2009 November 20)
Received 2009 July 2, accepted for publication 2009 October 13
Published 2009 November 2