The neutral thermosphere at Arecibo during geomagnetic storms

Journal Article · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1991 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/90JA01595· OSTI ID:6104527

Burnside, R G; Tepley, C A; Sulzer, M P ^[1]; Fuller-Rowell, T J ^[2]; Torr, D G ^[3]; Roble, R G ^[4]

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1. Arecibo Observatory (Puerto Rico)
2. Univ. Coll., London (England)
3. Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville (USA)
4. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO (USA)

Over the past five years, simultaneous incoherent scatter and optical observations have been obtained at Arecibo, Puerto Rico, during two major geomagnetic storms. The first storm the authors examine occurred during the World Day campaign of 12-16 January 1988, where on 14 January 1988, Kp values greater than 7 were recorded. An ion-energy balance calculation shows that atomic oxygen densities at a fixed height on 14 January 1988 were about twice as large as they were on the quiet days in this period. Simultaneous radar and Fabry-Perot interferometer observations were used to infer nightime O densities on 14-15 January 1988 that were about twice as large as on adjacent quiet nights. On this night, unusually high westward ion velocities were observed at Arecibo. The Fabry-Perot measurements show that the normal eastward flow of the neutral wind was reversed on this night. The second storm they examine occured on the night of 13-14 July 1985, when Kp values reached only 4+, but the ionosphere and thermosphere responded in a similar manner as they did in January 1988. On the nights of both 13-14 July 1985 and 14-15 January 1988, the electron densities observed at Arecibo were significantly higher than they were on nearby geomagnetically quiet nights. These results indicate that major storm effects in thermospheric winds and composition propagate to low latitudes and have a pronounced effect on the ionospheric structure over Arecibo.

• OSTI ID: 6104527
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States) Vol. 96:A2; ISSN JGREA; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

661320* -- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magnetospheric Phenomena-- (1992-)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELEMENTS
FUNCTIONS
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
IONOSPHERE
IONOSPHERIC EFFECTS
LATITUDE EFFECT
MAGNETIC STORMS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NONMETALS
OXYGEN
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
QUANTITY RATIO
RADAR
RANGE FINDERS
RESPONSE FUNCTIONS
THERMOSPHERE
VARIATIONS
WIND