Relative flow of H+ and O+ ions in the topside ionosphere at mid-latitudes |
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Authors: | G.I. Bailey R.J. Moffett J.A. Murphy |
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Affiliation: | Department of Applied Mathematics and Computing Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, England;Department of Mathematics, University of Aston in Birmingham, Birmingham B4 7ET, England |
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Abstract: | Theoretical results on the daily variation of O+ and H+ field-aligned velocities in the topside ionosphere are presented. The results are for an L = 3 magnetic field tube under sunspot minimum conditions at equinox. They come from calculations of time-dependent O+ and H+ continuity and momentum balance in a magnetic field tube which extends from the lower F2 region to the equatorial plane (Murphy et al., 1976).There are occasions when ion counterstreaming occurs, with the O+ velocity upward and H+ velocity downward. The conditions causing this counterstreaming are described: the H+ layer is descending whilst O+ is supplied from below either to increase the O+ concentration at fixed heights or to replace O+ ions lost by charge exchange with neutral H. It is suggested that the results of observations at Arecibo by Vickrey et al. (1976) of O+ and H+ concentrations and counterstreaming velocities are significantly affected by drift. |
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