Daytime F-layer trough

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:7188831

Whalen, J A

The trough in the daytime winter F-layer ionization is a fundamental feature of ionospheric-magnetospheric convection causing depletions of an order of magnitude in the electron density at the F-layer maximum near midday. As observed by a world-wide array of ionospheric sounders at high northern latitudes during solar maximum, the daytime trough is present on each day of a continuous 31 day period, is stable in Mlat/MLT and is continuously present for many hours. It is found to have 2 components, one in the morning and one in the afternoon corresponding to the dawn and dusk convection cells. These troughs show pronounced dependence on longitude corresponding to the relative variation of the solar geomagnetic frame of reference of the convection pattern with respect to the solar terrestrial frame of the undisturbed daytime F layer. Regions of depleted ionospheric plasma named troughs by Muldrew have long been recognized as nighttime phenomena. However troughs in the daytime seem to be the subject of much controversy since they have been seen sporadically and generally associated with disturbed conditions.

• Research Organization: Air Force Geophysics Lab., Hanscom AFB, MA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 7188831
• Report Number(s): AD-A-217943/0/XAB; GL-TR--90-0010
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640201* -- Atmospheric Physics-- Auroral
Ionospheric
& Magetospheric Phenomena
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
CONVECTION
DISTURBANCES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
EARTH MAGNETOSPHERE
EARTH PLANET
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT
F REGION
GLOBAL ASPECTS
HEAT TRANSFER
IONIZATION
IONOSONDES
IONOSPHERE
MASS TRANSFER
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
PLANETS
PLASMA
RADIO EQUIPMENT
VARIATIONS