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1.
A modelling study of the electron content of the mid-latitude ionosphere and protonosphere has been carried out for solstice conditions using the mathematical model of Bailey (1983). In the model calculations coupled time-dependent O+, H+ continuity and momentum equations and O+, H+ and electron heat balance equations are solved for a magnetic shell extending over both hemispheres. The inclusion of interhemispheric flow of plasma and of heat balance has enabled us to investigate the role of interhemispheric coupling on the electron content and related shape parameters. The computed results are compared with results from slant path observations of the ATS-6 radio beacon made at Lancaster (U.K.) and Boulder, Colorado (U.S.A.).It has been found that the conjugate photoelectron heating has a major effect on the shape of the daily variation of slant slab thickness (τ) and also on the magnitude of the protonospheric content (Np). Some of the main features of τ are closely related to the sunrise and sunset times in the conjugate ionosphere. Also it is found that night-time increases in total electron content (NT) and F2 region peak electron density (Nmax) in winter are natural consequences of ionization loss at low altitudes causing an enhanced downward flow of plasma from the protonosphere which is coupled to the summer hemisphere. One other important consequence of the coupled protonosphere is that the effects on NT of the neutral air wind are not much different in winter from those in summer.  相似文献   

2.
The ionospheric and protonospheric regions of the plasmasphere, which are dominated by the O+ and H+ ionic species, respectively, interact by means of proton fluxes within tubes of magnetic force. The present study is concerned with the determination of these fluxes by the beacon satellite technique as used in the ATS-6 experiment in relation to three observing sites: Boulder, Colorado; Lancaster, U.K.; and Fairbanks, Alaska. From plasmasphere models based on solutions of the time dependent O+ and H+ momentum and continuity equations, it is shown that the time differential of the “residual content” as measured at Lancaster, provides a good estimate of the protonospheric flux at 4000km altitude in the L = 1.8 magnetic shell under quite geomagnetic conditions. The effect of the neutral thermospheric wind on the protonospheric flux is also investigated. Fluxes determined by the beacon technique for the period from September 1975 to July 1976 are shown, and these are compared with typical results derived from other techniques.  相似文献   

3.
Using ion-electron fluid parameters derived from Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) observations within Saturn's inner magnetosphere as presented in Sittler et al. [2006a. Cassini observations of Saturn's inner plasmasphere: Saturn orbit insertion results. Planet. Space Sci., 54, 1197-1210], one can estimate the ion total flux tube content, NIONL2, for protons, H+, and water group ions, W+, as a function of radial distance or dipole L shell. In Sittler et al. [2005. Preliminary results on Saturn's inner plasmasphere as observed by Cassini: comparison with Voyager. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32(14), L14S04), it was shown that protons and water group ions dominated the plasmasphere composition. Using the ion-electron fluid parameters as boundary condition for each L shell traversed by the Cassini spacecraft, we self-consistently solve for the ambipolar electric field and the ion distribution along each of those field lines. Temperature anisotropies from Voyager plasma observations are used with (T⊥/T∥)W+∼5 and (T⊥/T∥)H+∼2. The radio and plasma wave science (RPWS) electron density observations from previous publications are used to indirectly confirm usage of the above temperature anisotropies for water group ions and protons. In the case of electrons we assume they are isotropic due to their short scattering time scales. When the above is done, our calculation show NIONL2 for H+ and W+ peaking near Dione's L shell with values similar to that found from Voyager plasma observations. We are able to show that water molecules are the dominant source of ions within Saturn's inner magnetosphere. We estimate the ion production rate SION∼1027 ions/s as function of dipole L using NH+, NW+ and the time scale for ion loss due to radial transport τD and ion-electron recombination τREC. The ion production shows localized peaks near the L shells of Tethys, Dione and Rhea, but not Enceladus. We then estimate the neutral production rate, SW, from our ion production rate, SION, and the time scale for loss of neutrals by ionization, τION, and charge exchange, τCH. The estimated source rate for water molecules shows a pronounced peak near Enceladus’ L shell L∼4, with a value SW∼2×1028 mol/s.  相似文献   

4.
Recent satellite beacon derived measurements of the recovery of protonospheric ionization following periods of increased geomagnetic activity show that the recovery takes longer than is indicated by whistler measurements. Realistic plasmasphere models have been used to determine whether satellite beacon measurements are reliable indicators of this recovery. It is found that the recovery time of the protonospheric content is similar to that of the minimum L-value flux tube intersected by the slant raypaths. Satellite beacon results are therefore useful indicators of protonospheric recovery after a storm provided any unrepresentative diurnal variations are eliminated.  相似文献   

5.
During August 1972, Explorer 45 orbiting near the equatorial plane with an apogee of ～5.2 Re traversed magnetic field lines in close proximity to those simultaneously traversed by the topside ionospheric satellite ISIS 2 near dusk in the L range 2.0–5.4. The locations of the Explorer 45 plasmapause crossings (determined by the saturation of the d.c. electric field double probe) during this month were compared to the latitudinal decreases of the H+ density observed on ISIS 2 (by the magnetic ion mass spectrometer) near the same magnetic field lines. The equatorially determined plasmapause field lines typically passed through or poleward of the minimum of the ionospheric light ion trough, with coincident satellite passes occurring for which the L separation between the plasmapause and trough field lines was between 1 and 2. Hence, the abruptly decreasing H+ density on the low latitude side of the ionospheric trough is not a near earth signature of the equatorial plasmapause. Vertical flows of the H+ ions in the light ion trough as detected by the magnetic ion mass spectrometer on ISIS were directed upward with velocities between 1 and 2 km s?1 near dusk on these passes. These velocities decreased to lower values on the low latitude side of the H+ trough but did not show any noticeable change across the field lines corresponding to the magnetospheric plasmapause. The existence of upward accelerated H+ flows to possibly supersonic speeds during the refilling of magnetic flux tubes in the outer plasmasphere could produce an equatorial plasmapause whose field lines map into the ionosphere at latitudes which are poleward of the H+ density decrease.  相似文献   

6.
Dynamic behavior of the coupled ionosphere-protonosphere system in the magnetospheric convection electric field has been theoretically studied for two plasmasphere models. In the first model, it is assumed that the whole plasmasphere is in equilibrium with the underlying ionosphere in a diurnal average sense. The result for this model shows that the plasma flow between the ionosphere and the protonosphere is strongly affected by the convection electric field as a result of changes in the volume of magnetic flux tubes associated with the convective cross-L motion. Since the convection electric field is assumed to be directed from dawn to dusk, magnetic flux tubes expand on the dusk side and contract on the dawn side when rotating around the earth. The expansion of magnetic flux tubes on the dusk side causes the enhancement of the upward H+ flow, whereas the contraction on the dawn side causes the enhancement of the downward H+ flow. Consequently, the H+ density decreases on the dusk side and increases on the dawn side. It is also found that significant latitudinal variations in the ionospheric structures result from the L-dependency of these effects. In particular, the H+ density at 1000 km level becomes very low in the region of the plasmasphere bulge on the dusk side. In the second model, it is assumed that the outer portion of the plasmasphere is in the recovery state after depletions during geomagnetically disturbed periods. The result for this model shows that the upward H+ flux increases with latitude and consequently the H+ density decreases with latitude in the region of the outer plasmasphere. In summary, the present theoretical study provides a basis for comparison between the equatorial plasmapause and the trough features in the topside ionosphere.  相似文献   

7.
Vertical profiles of electron density obtained in the vicinity of the plasmapause using the Alouette-II topside sounder have been analyzed to assess the presence of H+ flow in the topside ionosphere. The observations in the midnight sector show clearly the presence of the plasmapause; i.e. there is a sharp boundary separating the poleward regions of polar wind H+ flow and the more gentle conditions of the plasmasphere where light ions are present in abundance. In contrast, in the sunlit morning sector upwards H+ flow is deduced to be present to invariant latitudes as low as 48° (L = 2·2) in the regions normally known to be well inside the plasmasphere. The upwards H+ flux is sufficiently large (3 × 108 ions cm?2 sec?1) that the plasmapause cannot be seen in the latitudinal electron density contours of the topside ionosphere. The cause for this flow remains unknown but it may be a result of a diurnal refilling process.  相似文献   

8.
Using the Faraday rotation technique with the ATS-3 satellite, it has been possible to monitor changes in the total electron content (NT) of the mid-latitude ionosphere during the first day of 20 geomagnetic storms. Our analysis has shown that during the positive phase (ΔNT > 0) of ionospheric storms the absolute magnitude of the increase in NT exhibits a very pronounced maximum near sunset. The mean value of ΔNT at 17:00 LT is more than five times the average ΔNT value at local noon. This effect is basically independent of the storm commencement time and is usually associated with substantial local enhancements of the total geomagnetic field. The NT enhancements are discussed in terms of a contraction and draining of the plasmasphere. A model is presented in which the dawn-dusk electric field responsible for the magnetospheric convection slows down the corotational motion of the plasmaspheric ionization in the dusk sector. This braking action causes a ‘pile up’ of the plasma and the magnetic field along the entire dusk sector.  相似文献   

9.
The effects of neutral air winds on the electron content (NT) and other parameters of the mid-latitude ionosphere have been modelled by means of mathematical solutions of the time-dependent continuity and momentum equations for oxygen and hydrogen ions. The geometry is chosen to represent a propagation path between a geosynchronous satellite and a ground station, and the computations are compared with results from slant path observations of the ATS-6 radio beacon made at Lancaster (U.K.) and Boulder, Colorado (U.S.A.).It is demonstrated that the electron content responds markedly to the magnitude and phase of the neutral air winds and that the effect induced by the wind on the electron content shows a consistent quantitative relationship with the wind velocity, especially during daytime. Reasonable variations in the phase and magnitude of the wind produce a range of daily electron content patterns which encompass the range of daily variations observed.The computations show that the wind gives rise to enhanced filling of the protonosphere. This shows as a depressed value of the shape factor (F), which by definition means that a greater fraction of the ionization is at higher altitudes. The depression of F is enhanced by a poleward wind and is suppressed or even superseded by an equatorward wind through changes of the electron density distribution with altitude.  相似文献   

10.
Recent satellite observations of thermal ion composition in the near-equatorial plasmasphere have shown that He+ comprises 5–10% typically and occasionally 25% or more of the total thermal ion density. A steady state diffusive equilibrium model for the distributions of H+, He+ and O+ along a plasmaspheric flux tube is used to elicit effects that may help explain these observed high He+ fractional concentrations. The model indicates that both the ionospheric composition and the temperature distribution along the flux tubes are important factors controlling the equatorial He+ composition, through the plasma scale height and thermal diffusion effects. Direct comparison of the model results with thermal ion observations by ISEE-1 indicates that the effects incorporated into the model may explain some of the elevated He+ concentrations. In some instances, however, effects not included in the model may also be of importance.  相似文献   

11.
All of the OGO-5 light ion density measurements (covering the period from March 1968 to May 1969) obtained from the Lockheed Light Ion Mass Spectrometer were used to determine the average global topology of the equatorial plasmasphere density distribution. The variation of the light ion equatorial density at L?3.2 with local time was deduced by determining the average density observed within one hour of a specific local time and within 0.1 of a given L coordinate. The average H+ density showed a semidiurnal variation with peaks near noon and midnight. The He+ observations also revealed multiple peaks throughout the day but with smaller amplitudes than those of H+. At L>3.2 plasma trough conditions increase the scatter of densities. The average variation of the H+ density with L within the plasmasphere is found to be steepest near midnight and can be least squares fitted equally well to either an exponential variation exp (?bL) where b is between 0.85 and 1.5 or to a power law L?a where a varies from 3.2 to 5.  相似文献   

12.
A modelling study of the effects of neutral air winds on the electron content of the mid-latitude ionosphere and protonosphere in winter has been made. The theoretical models are based on solutions of time dependent momentum and continuity equations for oxygen and hydrogen ions. The computations are compared with results from slant path observations of the ATS-6 radio beacon made at Lancaster (U.K.) and Boulder, Colorado (U.S.A.).It is found that the magnitude of the poleward neutral air wind velocity has a strong effect on the general magnitude of the electron content, but that the daily pattern of electron content variation is relatively insensitive to changes in the magnitude and phase of the wind pattern. These results are in contrast with the behaviour reported previously (Sethia et al., 1983) for summer conditions. However, the night-time electron content is increased by advancing the phase of the neutral air wind and decreased by retarding it. It appears that day-to-day variations in the electron content pattern in winter cannot be explained as effects of changing neutral air winds, which again contrasts with the findings for summer. As in summer, the wind has a major effect on the filling of the protonosphere, but in opposite sense.It is argued that the effect of the neutral air wind on the ionospheric and the protonospheric electron contents depends on the duration of the poleward wind in relation to daylight and on whether or not the wind reverses direction whilst the ionosphere is sunlit.  相似文献   

13.
VLF whistler mode signals have previously been used to infer radial plasma drifts in the equatorial plane of the plasmasphere and the field-aligned ionosphere-protonosphere coupling fluxes. Physical models of the plasmasphere consisting of O+ and H+ ions along dipole magnetic field lines, and including radial Ez × B drifts, are applied to a mid-latitude flux tube appropriate to whistler mode signals received at Wellington, New Zealand, from the fixed frequency VLF transmitter NLK (18.6 kHz) in Seattle, U.S.A. These models are first shown to provide a good representation of the recorded Doppler shift and group delay data. They are then used to simulate the process of deducing the drifts and fluxes from the recorded data. Provided the initial whistler mode duct latitude and the ionospheric contributions are known, the drifts at the equatorial plane can be estimated to about ± 20 ms?1 (～10–15%), and the two hemisphere ionosphere-protonosphere coupling fluxes to about ± 1012 m?2 s?1 (～40%).  相似文献   

14.
The problem of the ionospheric formation in the Jovian upper atmosphere is examined. By adopting two plausible atmospheric models, we solve coupled time-dependent continuity equations for ions H2+, H5+, H+, H3+ and HeH+ simultaneously. It is shown that both radiative and three body association of H+ to H2 are important for the determination of the structure of the Jovian ionosphere. The maximum electron density in the daytime is found to be about 105 cm?3. It is also shown that diurnal variation with large-amplitude can exist in the Jovian ionosphere.  相似文献   

15.
Incoherent scatter measurements of electron density and vertical O+ fluxes over Millstone Hill (42.6°N, 71.5°W) previously have been used to study the exchange of plasma between the ionosphere and the magnetosphere. During the daytime there is usually an upward flux of O+ ions above about 450 km that can be measured readily and equated to the escaping proton flux. At night the O+ fluxes usually are downwards everywhere owing to the decay of the F-layer, and it becomes difficult to detect effects due an arriving proton flux. In a new study of the nighttime fluxes, appeal was made to the estimated abundance of the H+ ions in the upper F-region which can be extracted from the observations. From a study of the behavior on 25 days over the interval 1969–1973, we conclude that in the daytime the flux always is upwards and close to its limiting value. This situation persists throughout the night in summer at times of high sunspot activity (e.g., 1969). There is a period of downward flux prior to ionospheric sunrise on winter nights whose duration increases with decreasing sunspot number. As sunspot minimum is approached (e.g., in 1973) downward fluxes are encountered for a brief period prior to ionospheric sunrise in summer also. Thus, over most parts of sunspot cycle, it appears that the protonosphere supplies ionization to the winter night ionosphere, while being maintained from the summer hemisphere. This helps explain the smallness of the day-to-night variations reported for the electron content of magnetospheric flux tubes near L = 4 in the American sector.  相似文献   

16.
In this paper we offer a model for the Earth's ionosphere and plasmasphere, allowing for the inertia and anisotropic energy distribution of thermal plasma. A procedure for simultaneous solution of equations of continuity and motion for the O+ and H+ ions, subject to inertia terms, is described. The model also includes transfer equations for longitudinal and transversal thermal energies. The system of simulating equations and the kinetic equation for superthermal electron spectra are concordantly solved along geomagnetic field lines. Within the framework of the model we developed a study is made of the dynamics of filling of the evacuated plasmaspheric reservoir after a magnetospheric disturbance. It is shown that the filling of the tubes offorce with L ? 3.5 proceeds with supersonic speeds during the first several days and the character of filling differs very much from a diffusion-equilibrium one. The spatio-temporal behavior of electron and ion temperature anisotropy that is formed in the process of filling, is considered. It is found that the value of electron anisotropy can be large. A brief analysis is made of the causes of electron and ion temperature anisotropy.  相似文献   

17.
A distinct feature of the ion composition results from the OGO-2, 4 and 6 satellites is the light ion trough, wherein the mid latitude concentrations of H+ and He+ decrease sharply with latitude, dropping to levels of 103 ions/cm3 or less near 60° dipole latitude (L=4). In contrast to the ‘main trough’ in electron density, Ne, observed primarily as a nightside phenomenon, the light ion trough persists during both day and night. For daytime winter hemisphere conditions and for all seasons during night, the mid latitude light ion concentration decrease is a pronounced feature. In the dayside summer and equinox hemispheres, the rate of light ion decrease with latitude is comparatively gradual, and the trough boundary is less well defined, particularly for quiet magnetic conditions. In response to magnetic storms, the light ion trough minimum moves equatorward, and deepens, consistent with earlier evidence of the contraction of the plasmasphere in response to storm time enhancements in magnetospheric plasma convection. The fact that a pronounced light ion trough is observed under conditions for which the dominant ion O+ may exhibit little or no simultaneous decrease appears to explain why earlier studies of the ‘main trough’ in topside distributions of Ne and Ni may, at times, have been inconclusive in relating the total ionization minimum with the mechanism of the plasmapause. In particular, the topside distribution of Ni appears to be the complex resultant of several variables within the ion composition, being governed by the competing processes of chemical production and loss, loss through magnetospheric convection, and large-scale dynamic transport resulting from neutral winds and electric fields. The net result is that in general, the light ion trough, rather than Ni, provides a more fundamental parameter for examining the structure and behavior of the plasmapause.  相似文献   

18.
The plasmapause position is determined by the innermost equipotential surface which is tangent to the ‘Roche-Limit’ surface of the ionospheric plasma filling the magnetosphere. When the thermal particles corotate with the Earth's angular velocity, the ‘Roche-Limit’ equatorial distance is Lc=5.78 [RE]. When the angular convection velocity is evaluated from the quiet time electric field distribution E3 of McIIwain (1972), Lc depends on the local time. Its minimum value is then LC=4.5Near 2400 LT, and the plasmapause shape and position satisfactorily fit the observations. The diffusive equilibrium dnesity distribution appropriated inside the plasmasphere, becomes convectively unstable beyond L = Lc, where the collisions type of model satisfactorily represents the observations. In the intermediate region between the plasmapause and the last closed magnetic field line, contimues ionization fluxes are expected to flow out of the midlatitude ionosphere  相似文献   

19.
In the quiet daytime D region, the primary positive-ion species is thought to be NO+, produced by solar Lyman-alpha ionization of NO. Below the altitude of the mesopause, however, the dominant ambient species observed are water-cluster ions of the general type H+(H2O)n. No satisfactory reaction scheme for producing these cluster ions from NO+ has yet been proposed. Following earlier suggestions, a model calculation has been carried out in which successive hydrations of NO+ take place through clustering with N2 and CO2, followed by “switching” reactions with H2O. The third hydrate of NO+ is then converted into the water-cluster species H+(H2O)3, and the other water-cluster species are produced by successive clustering and thermal breakup reactions. Many of the reactions involved have not been measured in the laboratory, but reasonable estimates of their rates can be made on the basis of existing measurements of other species. Since both temperature and water-vapor content are of major importance in the model, calculations were carried out for two temperature profiles and two water-vapor profiles. It is shown that the results are in reasonably good agreement with observations as far as the water-cluster species are concerned. Under low-temperature conditions, the model predicts relatively large concentrations of various clusters of NO+, in agreement with some observations but in disagreement with others. The importance of sampling breakup of these weakly bound clusters, and their relevance to the free electron concentrations are discussed.  相似文献   

20.
Additional studies of the ion composition results obtained from the OGO-6 satellite support earlier observations of irregularities in the distribution of H+ and He+ within the light ion trough near L = 4, which has been associated with the plasmapause. These irregularities are in the form of sub-troughs superimposed upon the major mid latitude decrease of the light ions. In the sub-troughs, ionization depletions and recoveries of as much as an order of magnitude are observed within a few degrees of latitude, usually exhibited in a pattern which changes significantly with longitude as the Earth rotates beneath the relatively fixed satellite orbit. The location and properties exhibited by these sub-troughs appear to be consistent with the concept of a plasmasphere distortion in the form of “plasmatails” resulting from the combined effects of magnetospheric convection plus corotation. Like the light ion trough, the “plasmatail” irregularity in H+ may be obscured on the day side by the dominant topside distribution of O+. Consequently, these light ion irregularities are seen as an important factor for studies of plasmapause-trough relationships.  相似文献   

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