Simulation of plasma motion in the polar ionosphere. Master's Thesis

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994

OSTI ID:6644737

Deist, D W

A model of plasma motion in the polar ionosphere is presented. Plasma motion due to polar convection and corotation above 50 deg N is modeled. The universal time (UT)-dependent corotation electric field (in the geomagnetic frame) is added to a polar convection electric field that is UT-dependent in the geographic frame and the total is displayed in both reference frames. To simulate actual magnetic conditions, varying polar convection patterns may be used by the model the authors have developed. Trajectories of single plasma parcels and regions of plasma are calculated. The calculated trajectories are displayed in the geographic and magnetic inertial reference frames. The model developed is applied to the study of a region of electron depletion near the pole, a polar hole. Changes in the size and location of the polar hole are explained in terms of a changing convection pattern. The results of this thesis are being used by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to further study ionospheric plasma motion.

• Research Organization: Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6644737
• Report Number(s): AD-A-286166/4/XAB
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Master's Thesis
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
PLASMA
DYNAMICS
MOTION
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONVECTION
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON DENSITY
IONOSPHERE
POLAR REGIONS
CRYOSPHERE
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ENERGY TRANSFER
HEAT TRANSFER
MASS TRANSFER
MECHANICS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
SIMULATION
661320* - Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena- (1992-)