Geomagnetic control of the foF2 long-term trends

Further development of the method proposed by Danilov and Mikhailov is presented. The method is applied to reveal the foF2 long-term trends on 30 Northern Hemisphere ionosonde stations. Most of them show significant foF2 trends. A pronounced dependence of trend magnitude on geomagnetic (invariant) latitude is confirmed. Periods of negative/positive foF2 trends corresponding to the periods of long-term increasing/decreasing geomagnetic activity are revealed for the first time. Pronounced diurnal variations of the foF2 trend magnitude are found. Strong positive foF2 trends in the post-midnight-early-morning LT sector and strong negative trends during daytime hours are found on the sub-auroral stations for the period with increasing geomagnetic activity. On the contrary middle and lower latitude stations demonstrate negative trends in the early-morning LT sector and small negative or positive trends during daytime hours for the same period. All the morphological features revealed of the foF2 trends may be explained in the framework of contemporary F2-region storm mechanisms. This newly proposed F2-layer geomagnetic storm concept casts serious doubts on the hypothesis relating the F2-layer parameter long-term trends to the thermosphere cooling due to the greenhouse effect.     

Source spectra and RMS acceleration of Mexican subduction zone earthquakes

Strong motion (SM) data of six Mexican subduction zone earthquakes (6.4M _S8.1) recorded near the epicentral zone are analyzed to estimate their far-field source acceleration spectra at higher frequencies (f0.3 Hz). Apart from the usual corrections such as geometrical spreading (1/R), average radiation pattern (0.6), free surface amplification (a factor of 2), and equal partitioning of the energy into two orthogonal horizontal components (a factor of 1/ ), the observed spectra are corrected for a frequency dependentQ(Q=100f), a site dependent filter (e ^–kf ), and amplification ofS waves near the surface (a factor of about 2 atf2Hz). We takeR as the average distance from the rupture area to the site. If we model the high frequency plateau (f1 Hz) of the source spectra, by a point source ^–2-model, and interpret them in terms of Brune's model we obtain between 50 and 100 bars for all earthquakes. The low-frequency broadband teleseismicP wave spectra, corrected witht ^*=1.0 s, agrees within a factor of two with SM source spectra near 1 Hz. The ^–2-model is inadequate to explain the observed source spectra in a broad frequency range; these resemble spectra given byGusev (1983) with some differences.SM source acceleration spectra require significant corrections to explain observed spectra and RMS acceleration (a_rms) (a) at farther coastal sites for extended sources due to directivity effect and (b) at inland sites (100R200 km) because of unaccounted path and site amplification and/or invalidity of body-wave approximation. The observed spectra and a_rms at these sites are significantly greater than the predicted values from the estimated source spectra.     

Semiannual and annual variations in the height of the ionospheric F2-peak

Ionosonde data from sixteen stations are used to study the semiannual and annual variations in the height of the ionospheric F2-peak, hmF2. The semiannual variation, which peaks shortly after equinox, has an amplitude of about 8 km at an average level of solar activity (10.7 cm flux = 140 units), both at noon and midnight. The annual variation has an amplitude of about 11 km at northern midlatitudes, peaking in early summer; and is larger at southern stations, where it peaks in late summer. Both annual and semiannual amplitudes increase with increasing solar activity by day, but not at night. The semiannual variation in hmF2 is unrelated to the semiannual variation of the peak electron density NmF2, and is not reproduced by the CTIP and TIME-GCM computational models of the quiet-day thermosphere and ionosphere. The semiannual variation in hmF2 is approximately isobaric, in that its amplitude corresponds quite well to the semiannual variation in the height of fixed pressure-levels in the thermosphere, as represented by the MSIS empirical model. The annual variation is not isobaric. The annual mean of hmF2 increases with solar 10.7 cm flux, both by night and by day, on average by about 0.45 km/flux unit, rather smaller than the corresponding increase of height of constant pressure-levels in the MSIS model. The discrepancy may be due to solar-cycle variations of thermospheric winds. Although geomagnetic activity, which affects thermospheric density and temperature and therefore hmF2 also, is greatest at the equinoxes, this seems to account for less than half the semiannual variation of hmF2. The rest may be due to a semiannual variation of tidal and wave energy transmitted to the thermosphere from lower levels in the atmosphere.     

Approximate expression for the hilbert transform of a certain class of functions and their application to the ray theory of seismic waves

Summary Approximate expressions for the Hilbert transform of the functionf(t)=exp(- ₀ ² t ²/²) cos( ₀ t+v) are determined. This function, given a suitable choice of the three parameters ₀, and v, approximates a wide class of seismic signals very well. The approximate expressions for the Hilbert transform enable very simple formulae to be given for the elementary seismograms of the individual seismic body waves (in the zero approximation of the ray theory). This accelerates the computation of ray theoretical seismograms considerably.     

Analytical study of the energy rate balance equation for the magnetospheric storm-ring current

We present some results of the analytical integration of the energy rate balance equation, assuming that the input energy rate is proportional to the azimuthal interplanetary electric field, E_y, and can be described by simple rectangular or triangular functions, as approximations to the frequently observed shapes of E_y, especially during the passage of magnetic clouds. The input function is also parametrized by a reconnection-transfer efficiency factor (which is assumed to vary between 0.1 and 1). Our aim is to solve the balance equation and derive values for the decay parameter compatible with the observed Dst peak values. To facilitate the analytical integration we assume a constant value for through the main phase of the storm. The model is tested for two isolated and well-monitored intense storms. For these storms the analytical results are compared to those obtained by the numerical integration of the balance equation, based on the interplanetary data collected by the ISEE-3 satellite, with the values parametrized close to those obtained by the analytical study. From the best fit between this numerical integration and the observed Dst the most appropriate values of are then determined. Although we specifically focus on the main phase of the storms, this numerical integration has been also extended to the recovery phase by an independent adjust. The results of the best fit for the recovery phase show that the values of may differ drastically from those corresponding to the main phase. The values of the decay parameter for the main phase of each event, _m, are found to be very sensitive to the adopted efficiency factor, , decreasing as this factor increases. For the recovery phase, which is characterized by very low values of the power input, the response function becomes almost independent of the value of and the resulting values for the decay time parameter, _r, do not vary greatly as varies. As a consequence, the relative values of between the main and the recovery phase, _m/_r, can be greater or smaller than one as varies from 0.1 to 1.     

Estimate of earthquake hazard in the Vrancea (Romania) region

A maximum likelihood method is used to estimate the earthquake hazard parameters maximum magnitudeM _max, annual activity rate , and theb value of the Gutenberg-Richter equation in the Vrancea (Romania) region. The applied procedure permits the use of mixed catalogs with incomplete historical as well as complete instrumental parts, the consideration of variable detection thresholds, and the incorporation of earthquake magnitude uncertainty.Our imput data, comprises 105 historical earthquakes which occurred between 984 and 1934, and a complete data file containing 1067 earthquakes which occurred during the period 1935–30 August, 1986. The complete part was divided into four subcatalogs according to different thresholds of completeness. Only subcrustal events were considered, and dependent events were removed.The obtained value (=0.65) is at the lower range of the previously reported results, but it appears concurrent with conceptual and observational facts. The same concerns inferred value of _max = 7.8 and activity rate _4.0 = 5.34.     

Observations of the upper frequency cutoffs of the auroral kilometric radiation

Intense auroral kilometric radiation (AKR) is being frequently observed with POLRAD from the Auroral Probe (Interball-2). Observations of the abrupt upper frequency cutoffs (UFCs) in the spectra of AKR are reported. The UFCs can be observed at a frequency range from 300 to 700 kHz, corresponding to AKR generation altitudes from approximately 4800 to 2100 km, and are distributed in magnetic local time (MLT) hours similarly to the AKR events, with a maximum at 1 h MLT. The observed frequency extent of the UFCs is 12 kHz, and is often determined by the instrumental resolution (4 kHz). It is suggested that the UFC may be associated with an abrupt switching on of the generation mechanism, when the electron density becomes sufficiently low inside a plasma depletion at an altitude where the ratio of f_pe/f_ce crosses some threshold value. The steepness of the UFCs can imply a non-linear process of generation. The estimated distance of the e-folding field aligned wave amplification is between 3 and 8 km. The UFCs are sometimes, though very seldom (10%), accompanied by narrow band (less than 4 kHz) ridges of radiation observed at the cutoff frequency. They are smoothly drifting in frequncy for several minutes. The power density of radiation in the ridge can be up to 2 orders of magnitude stronger than in the accompanying wide band emission of AKR. The ridge at UFC can imply either energy concentration at the source bottom, or focusing, if specific conditions for the escape of the radiation are assumed.     

Dependence of the effective attachment coefficient of small ions upon the size of condensation nuclei

Summary To clarify the ionization equilibrium near the ground, simultaneous measurements of the rate of ion pair production (q), the concentrations of small ions (n) and condensation nuclei (Z), and the diffusion coefficient of condensation nuclei (D) were carried out at several stations in the central area of Japan. The total rate of ion pair production (q) was estimated fromq=q(Rn)+q(Tn)+q()+q(+CR). The value ofq was estimated as 10J to 20J. The mean life () and the effective attachment coefficient () of small ions were also estimated at each station. Correlations amongn, Z, q, andD were also studied. If we take the variation ofD into consideration, the correlation was expressed by the simple formula;q=n Z. The dependence of upon size of nuclei (2r) were also measured, and was found to correlate well withD orr.     

Self-affine growth pattern of earthquake rupture zones

Data from 41 moderate and large earthquakes have been used to derive a scaling law for fault parameters. Fault lengthL, widthW and areaS are empirically related byLS andWS where 0.6<<0.7, 0.3<<0.4 and +=1. These relations indicate that the growth pattern of earthquake rupture zones is statistically self-affine. It is also found that these relations are similar to the relation derived from a diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) model with anisotropic sticking probability. This suggests that a modified DLA model could describe the evolution of earthquake rupture zones.     

Vertical motion and diabatic heating over the Indian monsoon region during the Bay of Bengal depression of 5–8 July, 1979

The vertical velocity, , and the diabatic heating were computed at 800, 600, 400 and 200 mb surfaces using the Omega equation. The highest contribution to is from the diabatic heating produced by condensation associated with the precipitations appearing to be the main source of diabatic heating. The net radiative cooling and the thermal advection in the upper troposphere over the warm anticyclone result in diabatic cooling over the eastern part of the Bay of Bengal and adjoining northern and eastern regions.List of Symbols Used C _p Heat capacity at constant pressure - f Coriolis parameter - g Acceleration due to gravity - P Atmospheric pressure - Q Diabatic heating rate per unit mass - R Gas constant of air - S Static stability parameter - t Time - U, V Zonal and meridional wind components - Specific volume - Relative vorticity - Absolute vorticity - Potential temperature - Geopotential - Vertical velocity (dP/dt) - ₁ Adiabatic vertical velocity - ₂ Vertical velocity due to certain forcing - ₃ Diabatic vertical velocity - Isobaric gradient operator - ² Laplacian operator - J(A, B) Jacobian operator     

Frequency dependence of crustalQ β in stable and tectonically active regions

Fundamental-mode Rayleigh wave attenuation data for stable and tectonically active regions of North America, South America, and India are inverted to obtain several frequency-independent and frequency-dependentQ models. Because of trade-offs between the effect of depth distribution and frequency-dependence ofQ on surface wave attenuation there are many diverse models which will satisfy the fundamental-mode data. Higher-mode data, such as 1-Hz Lg can, however, constrain the range of possible models, at least in the upper crust. By using synthetic Lg seismograms to compute expected Lg attenuation coefficients for various models we obtained frequency-dependentQ models for three stable and three tectonically active regions, after making assumptions concerning the nature of the variation ofQ with frequency.In stable regions, ifQ varies as , where is a constant, models in which =0.5, 0.5, and 0.75 satisfy fundamental-mode Rayleigh and 1-Hz Lg data for eastern North America, eastern South America, and the Indian Shield, respectively. IfQ is assumed to be independent of frequency (=0.0) for periods of 3 s and greater, and is allowed to increase from 0.0 at 3 s to a maximum value at 1 s, then that maximum value for is about 0.7, 0.6, and 0.9, respectively, for eastern North America, eastern South America, and the Indian Shield. TheQ models obtained under each of the above-mentioned two assumptions differ substantially from one another for each region, a result which indicates the importance of obtaining high-quality higher-mode attenuation data over a broad range of periods.Tectonically active regions require a much lower degree of frequency dependence to explain both observed fundamental-mode and observed Lg data. Optimum values of for western North America and western South America are 0.0 if is constant (Q is independent of frequency), but uncertainty in the Lg attenuation data allows to be as high as about 0.3 for western North America and 0.2 for western South America. In the Himalaya, the optimum value of is about 0.2, but it could range between 0.0 and 0.5. Frequency-independent models (=0.0) for these regions yield minimumQ values in the upper mantle of about 40, 70, and 40 for western North America, western South America, and the Himalaya, respectively.In order to be compatible with the frequency dependence ofQ observed in body-wave studies,Q in stable regions must be frequency-dependent to much greater depths than those which can be studied using the surface wave data available for this study, andQ in tectonically active regions must become frequency-dependent at upper mantle or lower crustal depths.On leave from the Department of Geophysics, Yunnan University, Kunming Yunnan, People's Republic of China     

Seasonal effects in the ionosphere-thermosphere response to the precipitation and field-aligned current variations in the cusp region

The seasonal effects in the thermosphere and ionosphere responses to the precipitating electron flux and field-aligned current variations, of the order of an hour in duration, in the summer and winter cusp regions have been investigated using the global numerical model of the Earths upper atmosphere. Two variants of the calculations have been performed both for the IMF B_y < 0. In the first variant, the model input data for the summer and winter precipitating fluxes and field-aligned currents have been taken as geomagnetically symmetric and equal to those used earlier in the calculations for the equinoctial conditions. It has been found that both ionospheric and thermospheric disturbances are more intensive in the winter cusp region due to the lower conductivity of the winter polar cap ionosphere and correspondingly larger electric field variations leading to the larger Joule heating effects in the ion and neutral gas temperature, ion drag effects in the thermospheric winds and ion drift effects in the F2-region electron concentration. In the second variant, the calculations have been performed for the events of 28–29 January, 1992 when precipitations were weaker but the magnetospheric convection was stronger than in the first variant. Geomagnetically asymmetric input data for the summer and winter precipitating fluxes and field-aligned currents have been taken from the patterns derived by combining data obtained from the satellite, radar and ground magnetometer observations for these events. Calculated patterns of the ionospheric convection and thermospheric circulation have been compared with observations and it has been established that calculated patterns of the ionospheric convection for both winter and summer hemispheres are in a good agreement with the observations. Calculated patterns of the thermospheric circulation are in a good agreement with the average circulation for the Southern (summer) Hemisphere obtained from DE-2 data for IMF B_y < 0 but for the Northern (winter) Hemisphere there is a disagreement at high latitudes in the afternoon sector of the cusp region. At the same time, the model results for this sector agree with other DE-2 data and with the ground-based FPI data. All ionospheric and thermospheric disturbances in the second variant of the calculations are more intensive in the winter cusp region in comparison with the summer one and this seasonal difference is larger than in the first variant of the calculations, especially in the electron density and all temperature variations. The means that the seasonal effects in the cusp region are stronger in the thermospheric and ionospheric responses to the FAC variations than to the precipitation disturbances.     

Uncertainties in field-line tracing in the magnetosphere. Part II: the complete internal geomagnetic field

The discussion in the preceding paper is restricted to the uncertainties in magnetic-field-iine tracing in the magnetosphere resulting from published standard errors in the spherical harmonic coefficients that define the axisymmetric part of the internal geomagnetic field (i.e. g_n⁰ ± g_n⁰). Numerical estimates of these uncertainties based on an analytic equation for axisymmetric field lines are in excellent agreement with independent computational estimates based on stepwise numerical integration along magnetic field lines. This comparison confirms the accuracy of the computer program used in the present paper to estimate the uncertainties in magnetic-field-line tracing that arise from published standard errors in the full set of spherical harmonic coefficients, which define the complete (non-axisymmetric) internal geomagnetic field (i.e. g_n^m ± g_n^m and h_n^m ± h_n^m). An algorithm is formulated that greatly reduces the computing time required to estimate these uncertainties in magnetic-field-line tracing. The validity of this algorithm is checked numerically for both the axisymmetric part of the internal geomagnetic field in the general case (1 n 10) and the complete internal geomagnetic field in a restrictive case (0 m n, 1 n 3). On this basis it is assumed that the algorithm can be used with confidence in those cases for which the computing time would otherwise be prohibitively long. For the complete internal geomagnetic field, the maximum characteristic uncertainty in the geocentric distance of a field line that crosses the geomagnetic equator at a nominal dipolar distance of 2 R_E is typically 100 km. The corresponding characteristic uncertainty for a field line that crosses the geomagnetic equator at a nominal dipolar distance of 6 R_E is typically 500 km. Histograms and scatter plots showing the characteristic uncertainties associated with magnetic-field-line tracing in the magnetosphere are presented for a range of illustrative examples. Finally, estimates are given for the maximum uncertainties in the locations of the conjugate points of selected geophysical observatories. Numerical estimates of the uncertainties in magnetic-field-line tracing in the magnetosphere, including the associated uncertainties in thelocations of the conjugate points of geophysical observatories, should be regarded as first approximations in the sense that these estimates are only as accurate as the published standard errors in the full set of spherical harmomic coefficients. As in the preceding paper, howerver, all computational techniques developed in this paper can be used to derive more realistic estimates of the uncertainties in magnetic-field-line tracing in the magnetosphere, following further progress in the determination of more accurate standard errors in the spherical harmonic coefficients.Also Visiting Reader in Physics, University of Sussex, Palmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK     

On the efficiency with which aerosol particles of radius larger than 0.1 μm are collected by simple ice crystal plates

A theoretical model is presented which allows computing the efficiency with which aerosol particles of radius 0.1r10 m are collected by simple ice crystal plates of radius 50a _c 640 m in air of various relative humidities, temperatures and pressures. Particle capture due to thermophoresis, diffusiophoresis and inertial impaction are considered. It is shown that the capture efficiency of an ice crystal in considerably affected by phoretic effects in the range 0.1r1 m. For aerosol particles ofr>1 m the efficiency is strongly controlled by the flow field around the crystal and the density of the aerosol material. Trajectory analysis also predicts that aerosol particles are preferentially captured by the ice crystal rim. Our theoretica results are found to agree satisfactorily with the laboratory studies presently available. Comparison shows that for the same pressure, temperature and relative humidity of the ambient air ice crystal plates are better aerosol particle scavengers than water drops.     

An approximate computation of infrared radiative fluxes in a cloudy atmosphere

A two-stream approximation is applied to the equation of infrared (IR) radiative transfer in order to compute the detailed structure of fluxes and cooling/heating rates in inhomogeneous, cloudy atmospheres. The spectrum between 4 and 400 m is split into 50 bands, and absorption of water vapour, uniformly mixed gases, ozone, water vapour polymers and water droplets are taken into account. Allowance is made for scattering by water droplets in the atmospheric window region (8–12.8 m) where the delta function approximation is used. The backward scattering coefficient is calculated from the asymmetry parameter by means of a new simple formula. The model is compared to other radiative transfer schemes and some applications are presented.     

The mean density of the earth

Résumé La densité moyenne de la Terre et la densité moyenne de la couche superficielle, jusqu'à1450 m, furent déterminées `a partir des observations du gradient vertical de la pesanteur, dans la mine Anna à Píbram. Les calculs furent effectués selon les formules(6) et(7), déduites sous la supposition que la Terre soit un ellipsoïde de révolution. Les résultats furent comparés aux valeurs déduites pour l'ellipsoïde astronomique et aux valeurs des densités obtenues des prises de roches dans la mine et on a constaté un bon accord.     

Ueber Herde elastischer Wellen in isotropen,homogenen Medien

Zusammenfassung 1) Es werden Multipollösungen der skalaren Wellengleichung ² f/t ² – c² div gradf=0 betrachtet. Einerseits kann man solche Lösungen direkt durch Kugelfunktionenn-ter Ordnung ausdrücken, anderseits aus der Einpollösungf=1/p F(t–p/c) durch Differentiation nachn Richtungen erhalten. Es wird der Zusammenhang zwischen den Ergebnissen der beiden Verfahren gezeigt. — 2) Für die Energiedichte und den Energiefluss durch Kugelflächen bei kleinen elastischen Verschiebungen werden Ausdrücke in Kugelkoordinaten angegeben. — 3) Für die Wellengleichung grad div –b ² rot rot werden rotationsfreie Multipollösungen angegeben und Ausdrücke für Energiedichte und Energiefluss hergeleitet. — 4) Das gleiche wird für divergenzfreie Multipollösungen durchgeführt. — 5) Es werden Multipole betrachtet, die weder rotationsfrei noch divergenzfrei sind. Als Spezialfälle werden Multipole mit zeitlich begrenzter und solche mit periodischer Erregung gezeigt, ferner Lösungen der Wellengleichung, die sowohl rotationsfrei wie divergenzfrei sind. — 6) Es wird gezeigt, wie man die elastischen Wellen, die im Sinne vonStokes von einem Herdgebiet endlicher Ausdehnung ausgehen, näherungsweise durch elastische Multipole darstellen kann. — 7) Es wird angedeutet, wie man durch Messung von Komponenten von oder u.s.w. in Punkten im Innern des Mediums die Erregung und Energie von elastischen Multipolen bestimmen kann. Ferner wird auf den Fall hingewiesen, wo ein rotationsfreier Einpol sich im Innern eines Halbraumes befindet und die Messungen an seiner Oberfläche ausgeführt werden.

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Summary (On foci of elastic waves in isotropic homogeneous media) — 1) Multiplets as solutions of the scalar wave equation ² f/t ² – c² div gradf=0 are considered. Such solutions can be obtained either directly by aid of spherical harmonics of ordern, or by differentiating the single polef=1/p F(t–p/c) with respect ton directions. The relations between the results of those two procedures are shown. — 2) In the case of small elastic displacements , the density of energy and the flow of energy through spherical surfaces are expressed by spherical coordinates. — 3) Multiplets which satisfy the equation of motion =a ² grad div b ² curl curl and the equation curl = 0 are given, and expressions for the density and flow of energy are found. — 4) The same is done with multiplets satisfying the equation of motion and the equation div = 0. — 5) General multiplets which satisfy the equation of motion are treated. As special cases, multiplets with excitation of finite length and multiplets with periodic excitation are considered, furthermore solutions of the equation of motion and of the equations curl = 0 and div = 0 are given. — 6) It is shown how elastic waves whose origin is a region of finite extension in the sense given byStokes, can be approximated by elastic multiplets. — 7) Some indications are given on the problem of how to find the functions of excitation and the energy of an elastic multiplet by measuring components of or etc., at points in the interior of the medium. The same problem is considered in the case of the single elastic pole. = grad 1/p F (t–p/a), if the measurements are made at the surface of an elastic half space.

     

Determination of characteristics of steam reservoirs by Radon-222 measurements in geothermal fluids

The authors conducted a Rn²²² survey in wells of the Larderello geothermal field (Italy) and observed considerable variations in concentrations. Simple models show that flow-rate plays an important part in the Rn²²² content of each well, as it directly affects the fluid transit time in the reservoirs. Rn²²² has been sampled from two wells of the Serrazzano area during flow-rate drawdown tests. The apparent volume of the steam reservoir of each of these two wells has been estimated from the Rn²²² concentration versus flow-rate curves.List of symbols Q Flow-rate (kg h^–1) - Decay constant of Rn²²² (=7.553×10^–3 h^–1) - Porosity of the reservoir (volume of fluid/volume of rock) - ₁ Density of the fluid in the reservoir (kg m^–3) - ₂ Density of the rock in the reservoir (kg m^–3) - M Stationary mass of fluid filling the reservoir (kg). - E Emanating power of the rock in the reservoir (nCi kg _rock ^–1 h^–1). - P Production rate of Rn²²² in the reservoir: number of atoms of Rn²²² (divided by 1.764×10⁷) transferred by the rock to the mass unit of fluid per unit time (nCi kg _fluid ^–1 h^–1). - N Specific concentration of Rn²²² in the fluid (nCi kg^–1) - Characteristic time of the steam reservoir at maximum flow-rate (=M/Q)     

Elektronenproduktion,Rekombination, Elektronendichte und Absorption in der ionosphärischenD-Region und ihre jahreszeitlichen Variationen

Zusammenfassung Es wird die Gleichung für die Elektronenproduktionq(z) abgeleitet, die die meteorologischen Elemente der Mesosphäre berücksichtigt. Nach Angaben über die mit Satelliten und Raketen gemessene Röntgenstrahlung mit 8 Å wird das Differentialspektrum des ionisierenden Energieflusses für eine mittlere Sonnenaktivität konstruiert. Auf dieser Grundlage und nach der bekannten Intensität der Strahlung Ly- sowie nach Angaben über dieElektronenproduktion der kosmischen Strahlung werden die Profileq _Rö(z),q _Ly-(z) undq _CR(z) für mittlere geographische Breiten und Standardatmosphäre entwickelt. Nach eingehender Analyse der vollständigen Gleichung für den effektiven Rekombinationskoeffizienten wird für die Verhältnisse in der tiefen Ionosphäre der Beitrag jeder einzelnen Komponente der Gleichung bestimmt. ist eine recht veränderliche Grösse, die von den aeronomischen und meteorologischen Verhältnissen und der Sonnenzenitdistanz abhängt. Aus den fürq(z) und (z) erhaltenen Angaben werden zwei ElektronendichteprofileN(z) für =30° und 75° erhalten. Das ProfilN(z) bei =30° wird mit dem gemittelten Profil einer umfangreichen Gruppe experimentell gefundener VerteilungenN(z) verglichen; das Profil bei =75° wird durch Messung der deviativen und nondeviativen Absorption für eine längere Zeitperiode überprüft. In beiden Fällen hat sich die Richtigkeit der theoretisch erhaltenen Profile bestätigt. Die jahreszeitlichen Variationen der nondeviativen Absorption in derD-Region sind ausschliesslich durch die Variationen der meteorologischen Parameter im Bereich der Mesopause bei konstantem Energiefluss der ionisierenden Strahlung bedingt.

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Summary An equation about the electron production is deduced in which the meteorological elements of the mesosphere are taken into account. The differential spectrum of the ionizing energy flux with 3 Å for average solar activity is constructed on evidence from rocket and satelitc measurements. The profilesq _Rö(z),q _Ly-(z) andq _CR(z) for mean geographical latitudes and standard atmosphere are plotted on that basis as well as on data fot the known intensity of the Ly- emission and the electron production of the cosmic rays. An exhaustive analysis is made of the full equation for the effective recombination coefficient and the contribution of all its components at lower ionosphere conditions is determined. is a rather variable quantity, dependent on the aeronomical and meteorological condition of the area under consideration, as well as on the solar zenith angle. Two profiles for the electron concentrationN(z) at =30° and 75° are drawn on the basis of data forq(z) and (z). The profileN(z) at =30° is compared with the averaged profile of a large group experimentally obtained distributionsN(z); the profile at =75° is checked by measurements of the deviative and nondeviative absorption taken for a lengthy period. Both checks are in good agreement with the theoretically obtained profiles. The seasonal variations of the nondeviative absorption in theD region could be completely explained with the variations of the meteorological parameters in the mesopause area at constant energy flux of the ionizing radiation.

     

Ionospheric and geomagnetic responses to changes in IMF B z : a superposed epoch study

Superposed epoch studies have been carried out in order to determine the ionospheric response at mid-latitudes to southward turnings of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). This is compared with the geomagnetic response, as seen in the indices K_p, AE and Dst. The solar wind, IMF and geomagnetic data used were hourly averages from the years 1967–1989 and thus cover a full 22-year cycle in the solar magnetic field. These data were divided into subsets, determined by the magnitudes of the southward turnings and the concomitant increase in solar wind pressure. The superposed epoch studies were carried out using the time of the southward turning as time zero. The response of the mid-latitude ionosphere is studied by looking at the F-layer critical frequencies, f_oF2, from hourly soundings by the Slough ionosonde and their deviation from the monthly median values, f_oF2. For the southward turnings with a change in B_z of B_z > 11.5 nT accompanied by a solar wind dynamic pressure P exceeding 5 nPa, the F region critical frequency, f_oF2, shows a marked decrease, reaching a minimum value about 20 h after the southward turning. This recovers to pre-event values over the subsequent 24 h, on average. The Dst index shows the classic storm-time decrease to about –60 nT. Four days later, the index has still to fully recover and is at about –25 nT. Both the K_p and AE indices show rises before the southward turnings, when the IMF is strongly northward but the solar wind dynamic pressure is enhanced. The average AE index does register a clear isolated pulse (averaging 650 nT for 2 h, compared with a background peak level of near 450 nT at these times) showing enhanced energy deposition at high latitudes in substorms but, like K_p, remains somewhat enhanced for several days, even after the average IMF has returned to zero after 1 day. This AE background decays away over several days as the Dst index recovers, indicating that there is some contamination of the currents observed at the AE stations by the continuing enhanced equatorial ring current. For data averaged over all seasons, the critical frequencies are depressed at Slough by 1.3 MHz, which is close to the lower decile of the overall distribution of f_oFl values. Taking 30-day periods around summer and winter solstice, the largest depression is 1.6 and 1.2 MHz, respectively. This seasonal dependence is confirmed by a similar study for a Southern Hemisphere station, Argentine Island, giving peak depressions of 1.8 MHz and 0.5 MHz for summer and winter. For the subset of turnings where B_z > 11.5 nT and P 5 nPa, the response of the geomagnetic indices is similar but smaller, while the change in f_oF2 has all but disappeared. This confirms that the energy deposited at high latitudes, which leads to the geomagnetic and ionospheric disturbances following a southward turning of the IMF, increases with the energy density (dynamic pressure) of the solar wind flow. The magnitude of all responses are shown to depend on B_z. At Slough, the peak depression always occurs when Slough rotates into the noon sector. The largest ionospheric response is for southward turnings seen between 15–21 UT.