Ion composition of the topside equatorial ionosphere during solar minimum

Journal Article · Wed Apr 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/91JA03111· OSTI ID:5397913

Gonzalez, S A; Fejer, B G ^[1]; Heelis, R A; Hanson, W B ^[2]

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1. Utah State Univ., Logan (United States)
2. Univ. of Texas, Richardson (United States)

The authors have used observations from both the Bennett ion mass spectrometer and the retarding potential analyzer on board the Atmosphere Explorer E satellite to study the longitudinally averaged O{sup +}, H{sup +}, and He{sup +} concentrations from 150 to 1,100 km in the equatorial ionosphere during the 1975-1976 solar minimum. The results suggest that the ion mass spectrometer measurements need to be increased by a factor of 2.15 to agree with the densities from the retarding potential analyzer and with ground-based measurements. The peak H{sup +} concentrations are about 2.5 {times} 10{sup 4} cm{sup {minus}3} during the day and 10{sup 4} cm{sup {minus}3} at night and vary little with season. The O{sup +}/H{sup +} transition altitude lies between 750 and 825 km during the day and between 550 and 600 km at night. He{sup +} is a minor species at all altitudes; its concentration is highly variable with a maximum value of about 10{sup 3} cm{sup {minus}3} during equinox daytime.

• OSTI ID: 5397913
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 97:A4; ISSN 0148-0227; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BARYONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EXPLORER SATELLITES
FERMIONS
HADRONS
HELIUM IONS
ION DENSITY
IONIC COMPOSITION
IONOSPHERE
IONS
MASS SPECTROMETERS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NUCLEONS
OXYGEN IONS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PROTONS
SATELLITES
SOLAR CYCLE
SPECTROMETERS