Directional currents in nocturnal E-region layers |
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| Authors: | H Rishbeth JCG Walker |
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| Institution: | 1. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon 0X11 0QX, U.K.;2. Space Physics Research Laboratory, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | In the mid-latitude E-region, the wind-shear mechanism produces thin ionized layers at levels where the vertical ion velocity is zero. We show that such layers conduct electric current only towards the magnetic equator, and not in the zonal direction. We surmise that this property may influence the electric field distribution in the nocturnal ionosphere, and possibly also the coupling between ion drifts and neutral air winds in the F-region. Detailed case studies of nocturnal layers located near the peak of ion Pedersen conductivity (around 130km) are needed to test this idea. |
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