Seasonal variations of day-time ionisation flows inferred from a comparison of calculated and observed NmF2 |
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| Institution: | 1. Arecibo Observatory, Universities Space Research Association, HC 3 Box 53995, Arecibo, PR, 00612, USA;2. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Blvd., Houston, TX, 77058, USA;3. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA, 91109-8099, USA;4. Universidad de Granada, Escuela Internacional de Posgrado, Facultad de Ciencias, Tecnologías e Ingenierías, c/ Paz 18, 18071, Granada, Spain;1. Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany;2. Department of Space Physics, College of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, 430079 Wuhan, China;3. Copernicus Gesellschaft e.V., 37081 Göttingen, Germany;1. Institute of Meteorology and Oceanography, National University of Defense Technology, Nanjing 211101, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China |
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| Abstract: | This paper reports on a comparison of calculated and observed monthly mean day-time ionospheric F2-peak density (NmF2) at a chain of stations from Japan to Australia for both solar minimum (1976) and solar maximum (1980). Nm values are calculated using the MSIS model for the observed peak heights (hmF2) and a simplified version of the continuity equation for day-time equilibrium conditions. The observed NmF2 values are always higher than the calculated ones in winter. This implies that a substantial downward flow of ionisation from above into the winter ionosphere is induced by the strongly poleward winter neutral wind which drives the ionisation down the field lines, lowering the peak height hmF2. In summer, winds are smaller, and the fluxes are more upward in comparison to winter. The seasonal variation of the ionisation fluxes and neutral winds are estimated for solar minimum, and compared with results of detailed calculations. |
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