Preliminary report of numerical simulation of intermediate wavelength ExB gradient drift instability in ionospheric plasma clouds. Interim report

Technical Report · Fri Dec 07 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:5002993

Keskinen, M J; Ossakow, S L; Chaturvedi, P K

Two-dimensional numerical simulations of intermediate wavelength (100-1000m) ExB gradient-drift instability in local unstable regions of large F region ionospheric plasma clouds have been performed, using an initial one-dimensional (y) cloud geometry, for plasma cloud density gradient scale lengths L = 3, 6, 10 km. For conditions typical of 200 km barium releases, we find that linearly unstable modes saturate by nonlinear generation of linearly damped modes along the y-direction (parallel to ExB drift). In the nonlinear regime, power laws are observed. These results are compared with recent in situ experimental measurements and theoretical predictions.

• Research Organization: Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5002993
• Report Number(s): AD-A-079307
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CLOUDS
DISTURBANCES
DRIFT INSTABILITY
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS
F REGION
INSTABILITY
IONOSPHERE
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PLASMA
PLASMA DRIFT
PLASMA INSTABILITY
PLASMA MICROINSTABILITIES
SCALING LAWS
SIMULATION
STABILITY
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS