Investigations of the polar rain: polar-cap electron precipitation. Master's thesis

Technical Report · Sun Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6495478

Riehl, K B

A study of the characteristics of the polar rain using data from the SSJ/4 sensor on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program F6 satellite Dawn/Dusk flux gradients are verified as being controlled by the interplanetary magnetic field Y component at least 84% of the time. The IMP Z copmonent is shown to play a role in generating flux gradients. The polar rain is best characterized by a double maxwellian distribution with typical temperatures of 80-90 eV for the low-energy component and 3.6-4.8 keV for the high energy component. The characteristics of the low-energy compenent of the polar rain strongly match those of the solar-wind strahl component, suggesting the polar rain is of strahl origin. But correlations with IMF sector structure and solar-wind parameters do not show the relationships proposed since the unpreferred cap generally has the same polar-rain characteristics as the preferred cap.

• Research Organization: Air Force Inst. of Tech., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH (USA). School of Engineering
• OSTI ID: 6495478
• Report Number(s): AD-A-178876/9/XAB; AFIT/GEP/ENP-86D-8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CHARGED-PARTICLE PRECIPITATION
DISTRIBUTION
ELECTRON PRECIPITATION
INTERPLANETARY MAGNETIC FIELDS
INTERPLANETARY SPACE
MAGNETIC FIELDS
POLAR REGIONS
RAIN
SOLAR ACTIVITY
SOLAR WIND
SPACE