Nightside Ionosphere of Mars from Local Electron Plasma Oscillations: A General Overview and Electron Density Holes & Gaps (Invited)

Details Nightside Ionosphere of Mars from Local Electron Plasma Oscillations: A General Overview and Electron Density Holes & Gaps (Invited) Nightside Ionosphere of Mars from Local Electron Plasma Oscillations: A General Overview and Electron Density Holes & Gaps (Invited)

Dec 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010agufmsm33d..06d&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2010, abstract #SM33D-06

Computer Science

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[2431] Ionosphere / Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Interactions, [2459] Ionosphere / Planetary Ionospheres

Scientific paper

The radar sounder on the Mars Express spacecraft provides local electron densities from electron plasma oscillations. Here, we present results from a study of the nightside ionosphere of Mars using local electron density data. Ionospheric density holes and gaps in the electron density profiles are observed on the nightside. Nightside ionospheric holes are commonly observed at Venus, at locations of strong vertical magnetic field, where the plasma is removed. Most of the holes at Mars tend to be aligned with the start of the dominant photoelectrons in the ASPERA-3 ELS data. At the same time, the disappearance of the ions or the increase in the energy of ions is observed in the ASPERA-3 IMA data, where the holes are present. Steep electron density gradients, characteristic of an ionopause at Venus, are observed in 15% of the passes in the nightside ionosphere. The electron density profiles on the nightside ionosphere are highly irregular. An inverse exponential relationship is observed between the median electron density and the altitude. At low altitudes, the median electron density decreases with increasing solar zenith angle (SZA). However, at high altitudes no dependence on SZA is observed.

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