Mathematics – Probability
Scientific paper
May 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm..gp22a07m&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #GP22A-07
Mathematics
Probability
2459 Planetary Ionospheres (5435, 5729, 6026, 6027, 6028), 2756 Planetary Magnetospheres (5443, 5737, 6030), 5435 Ionospheres (2459), 5443 Magnetospheres (2756), 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
The ~400-km-altitude mapping orbit of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is close to the median altitude of the ionopause, a plasma boundary separating Mars' ionosphere from the solar wind. Consequently, the spacecraft makes numerous ionopause crossings as the boundary moves up and down in response to variations in the solar EUV flux and the solar wind dynamic pressure. The MGS Electron Reflectomerer (ER) observes these crossings as abrupt changes in the electron energy spectrum. Crustal magnetic fields can greatly enhance the probability that the ionosphere above them will extend to altitudes of 400 km or higher. Intense crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere trap ionospheric plasma and shield it from the solar wind, forming localized "magnetospheres" that extend well above the 400-km mapping orbit. Enhancements in the probability can also be discerned over much weaker magnetic anomalies, providing a new technique to detect their presence. The large volume of uniformly sampled data (> 2.5 million spectra) allows a complete map of the crustal fields at ~2-degree resolution. Away from the crustal fields, the ionosphere shows many similarities to the ionosphere of Venus. In weak-field regions of the northern hemisphere, there is a pronounced flaring of the ionosphere from the sub-solar point to the terminator. In addition, the ionosphere is observed to expand and contract in response to variations in both the solar EUV flux and the solar wind dynamic pressure.
Acuña Mario Humberto
Cloutier Paul A.
Connerney J. E.
Lin Robert P.
Mitchell David Leroy
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