Other
Scientific paper
Feb 1991
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991georl..18..345y&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters (ISSN 0094-8276), vol. 18, Feb. 1991, p. 345-348.
Other
18
Earth Ionosphere, Earth Magnetosphere, Ionospheric Composition, Ionospheric Ion Density, Polar Regions, Auroral Zones, Exos Satellites, Mass Spectrometers
Scientific paper
Results are presented on ion composition measurements from the Suprathermal Ion Mass Spectrometer aboard the EXOSD satellite launched on February 21, 1989. Results show that ions other than H(+), notably He(+), O(+), O(2+), and N(+), often constitute a significant component of the thermal ion population in the high-altitude polar ionosphere. Unlike H(+) ions, which are almost always present, these ions are highly variable in relative abundance, occurrence, and spatial extent. A survey of about 35 orbits shows that O(+) and He(+) were present in over half of the orbits, with the O(+)/H(+) flux ratio typically ranging from 0.1 to 0.5, but at times exceeding unity. The bulk of the observed ions had energies in the range 0-5 eV. The observed suprathermal (greater than 100 eV) ions were typically dominated by H(+). It is suggested that the bulk of these thermal-energy ions originate from lower altitudes where they are energized to sufficient energy to overcome gravitational and other barriers to their upward motion.
Sagawa Eiichi
Whalen Brian A.
Yau Andrew W.
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