The slab thickness of the mid-latitude ionosphere

Details The slab thickness of the mid-latitude ionosphere The slab thickness of the mid-latitude ionosphere

Oct 1973

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1973p%26ss...21.1775t&link_type=abstract

Planetary and Space Science, Volume 21, Issue 10, p. 1775-1793.

Physics

16

Scientific paper

The thickness of the peak of the ionosphere depends primarily on the temperature Tn of the neutral gas, and corresponds approximately to an α-Chapman layer at a temperature of 0.87Tn. The overall slab thickness, as given by Faraday rotation measurements, is then τ =0.22n + 7km. Expansion of the topside ionosphere, and changes in the E-andFl-regions increase τ by about 20 km during the day in summer. Near solar minimum τ is increased by a lowering of the O+/H+ transition height; if the neutral temperature Tn is estimated, this height can be obtained from observed values of τ. Hourly values of slab thickness were determined over a period of 6 yr at 34°S and 42°S. Near solar maximum the night-time values were about 260 km in all seasons. The corresponding neutral temperatures agree with satellite drag values; they show a semiannual variation of 14 per cent and a seasonal change of 5 per cent. Daytime values of τ were about 230 km in winter and 320 km in summer, implying a seasonal change of 30 per cent in Tn. Temperatures increase steadily throughout the day in all seasons, with a rapid post-sunset cooling in summer. Downwards movements produce a large peak in τ at 0600 hr in winter. A large upwards flux, equal to about 40 per cent of the maximum (limiting) value, reduces τ for several hours after sunrise in winter. The slab thickness increases near solar minimum showing a reduction of the O+/H+ transition height to about 700 km in summer and 500 km in winter.

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