Neutral and ion composition changes in the F Region over Millstone Hill during the equinox transition study

Technical Report · Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1990

OSTI ID:6576176

Oliver, W L

Overhead ionospheric incoherent scatter radar data from Millstone Hill is used to deduce the storm time variations of the thermospheric temperature, O and N2 densities, and F1 region ion composition during the Equinox Transition study of September 17-24, 1984. The measured neutral temperature profile and O density at 400 km altitude is extrapolated to determine O density changes in the lower thermosphere. Using these O densities and the measured electron densities, we deduce the variation of the N{sub 2} density. Our initial attempt leads to the deduction of large depletions in both O and N{sub 2} in the lower thermosphere. The radar-measured neutral temperatures were contaminated by ion-neutral frictional heating effects during the disturbed periods of the ETS and this served to invalidate neutral density extrapolations made with these temperatures. The height of 50% O+ ion composition in the F1 region and the height of the peak electron density in the ionosphere, are completed and compared. The height of the peak on the distributed days was located in the lower F1 region molecular-ion layer rather than in the F1 region O+ layer. This occurrance has serious consequences for methods of deducing neutral winds from the height of the F layer, for these methods rely on the peak containing primarily O+ ions.

• Research Organization: Boston Univ., MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6576176
• Report Number(s): AD-A-222944/1/XAB; CNN: F49620-88-C-0111
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Pub. in Jnl. of Geophysical Research, Vol. 95, No. A4, 4129-4134(1 Apr 1990)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
F1 LAYER
IONIC COMPOSITION
IONOSPHERE
ELECTRON DENSITY
THERMOSPHERE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ELECTRONS
F REGION
FRICTION
HEATING
HEIGHT
ION DENSITY
MAGNETIC STORMS
NITROGEN
OXYGEN
RADAR
SCATTERING
VARIATIONS
WIND
DIMENSIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
ELEMENTS
FERMIONS
LEPTONS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
NONMETALS
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
RANGE FINDERS
640201* - Atmospheric Physics- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena