Effect of polar cap patches on the polar thermosphere
Journal Article
·
· Journal of Geophysical Research
- Utah State Univ., Logan, UT (United States)
Polar cap patches are regions of enhanced ionization that appear when the interplanetary magnetic field is southward. They are created either in the dayside cusp or equatorward of the cusp in the sunlit hemisphere. Once formed, they convect in an antisunward direction across the dark polar cap at speeds of 100 m/s. The size of a plasma patch varies from about 100 to 1000 km, and its density relative to the background density varies from a few tens of percent to a factor of 100. Because propagating plasma patches might have a significant effect on the neutral atmosphere, a global thermospheric circulation model was used to calculate the response of the polar thermosphere to a {open_quotes}representative{close_quotes} plasma patch. The model predicts that a localized thermospheric disturbance is characterized by a neutral gas upwelling, and O/N{sub 2} composition changes. The thermospheric disturbance persists for a time that is much longer than the patch lifetime, and it spreads out over a region that is much larger than the patch dimensions as it dissipates. 52 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.
- OSTI ID:
- 227158
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research Journal Issue: A10 Vol. 100; ISSN JGREA2; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Interactions between neutral thermospheric composition and the polar ionosphere using a coupled ionosphere-thermosphere model
Plasma structuring in the polar cap
Origin of density enhancements in the winter polar-cap ionosphere
Journal Article
·
Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1987
· Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)
·
OSTI ID:5556963
Plasma structuring in the polar cap
Technical Report
·
Sun Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1989
·
OSTI ID:6000544
Origin of density enhancements in the winter polar-cap ionosphere
Technical Report
·
Thu May 07 00:00:00 EDT 1987
·
OSTI ID:5812614