Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Observations Of The Vertical Ion Drift In The Equatorial Ionosphere During The Solar Minimum Period Of 2009, R. A. Stoneback, R. A. Heelis, A. G. Burrell, W. R. Coley, Bela G. Fejer, E. Pacheco
Observations Of The Vertical Ion Drift In The Equatorial Ionosphere During The Solar Minimum Period Of 2009, R. A. Stoneback, R. A. Heelis, A. G. Burrell, W. R. Coley, Bela G. Fejer, E. Pacheco
Bela G. Fejer
[1] The extended solar minimum conditions in 2008 and 2009 presented an opportunity to investigate the ionosphere at lower solar activity levels than previously observed. The Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) Ion Velocity Meter (IVM) instrument onboard the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System is used to construct the median meridional (vertical) ion drifts, ion densities, and O+ concentrations during periods of low geomagnetic activity for four characteristic seasons each year spanning late 2008 to 2010. The presence of a large semidiurnal component in the ion drift variation at the equator produced significant differences from typical ionospheric conditions. Instead of upward …
Longitudinal Ionosphericeffects In The South Atlantic Sector During Solar Maximum, E. R. De Paula, J. R. Souza, Bela G. Fejer, G. J. Bailey, R. A. Heelis
Longitudinal Ionosphericeffects In The South Atlantic Sector During Solar Maximum, E. R. De Paula, J. R. Souza, Bela G. Fejer, G. J. Bailey, R. A. Heelis
Bela G. Fejer
[1] Large-scale horizontal gradients in ion density and vertical drift observed by the Atmospheric Explorer E satellite in the South Atlantic region (latitudes 10°S–20°S, longitudes 50°W–10°E) during the June solstice at solar maximum are presented and analyzed. These features occur during the nighttime period. The observations near 450-km altitude show vertically downward ion drift velocities exceeding 120 m s−1 and depleted regions where the ion density is around 2 × 104 cm−3. It is shown, using values modeled by the Sheffield University Plasmasphere Ionosphere Model (SUPIM) along the satellite trajectory, that the large ion density depletions appear as a result …
Equatorial And Low Latitude Thermospheric Winds: Measured Quiet Time Variations With Season And Solar Flux From 1980 To 1990, M. A. Biondi, S. Y. Sazykin, Bela G. Fejer, J. W. Meriwether, C. G. Fesen
Equatorial And Low Latitude Thermospheric Winds: Measured Quiet Time Variations With Season And Solar Flux From 1980 To 1990, M. A. Biondi, S. Y. Sazykin, Bela G. Fejer, J. W. Meriwether, C. G. Fesen
Bela G. Fejer
Thermospheric winds have been systematically determined at Arequipa, Peru, and Arecibo, Puerto Rico, from Fabry-Perot interferometer measurements of Doppler shifts in the nightglow 630 nm line. The wind databases (1983 – 1990 at Arequipa and 1980 – 1990 at Arecibo) have been edited to eliminate measurements during geomagnetically disturbed conditions, then sorted by season and solar flux level. Following this, they were averaged to obtain the climatological behavior of the nighttime wind variations at the two locations. A new averaging technique, multivariate regression analysis, has been applied to the data, and the results compared to our prior binning averages. The …
Solar Cycle And Seasonal Variationsin F Region Electrodynamics At Millstone Hill, M. J. Buonsanto, M. E. Hagan, J. E. Salah, Bela G. Fejer
Solar Cycle And Seasonal Variationsin F Region Electrodynamics At Millstone Hill, M. J. Buonsanto, M. E. Hagan, J. E. Salah, Bela G. Fejer
Bela G. Fejer
Incoherent scatter radar observations of ion drifts taken at Millstone Hill (42.6°N, 288.5°E) during 73 experiments in the period February 1984 to February 1992 are used to construct, for the first time at this station, average quiet-time E×B drift patterns for both solar cycle maximum and minimum, for the summer, winter, and equinox seasons. The daily variation of V⊥N shows a reversal from northward to southward drifts near noon, and a return to northward drifts in the premidnight hours. The weaker southward drift in the afternoon in summer noted by Wand and Evans (1981) is shown to occur only at …
F-Region Plasma Drifts Over Arecibo: Solar Cycle, Seasonal And Magnetic Activityeffects, Bela G. Fejer
F-Region Plasma Drifts Over Arecibo: Solar Cycle, Seasonal And Magnetic Activityeffects, Bela G. Fejer
Bela G. Fejer
We have used Arecibo incoherent scatter measurements from 1981 to 1990 to determine the characteristics of low-latitude F region plasma drifts. The measurements show large day-to-day variability even during magnetically quiet periods. The average poleward/perpendicular plasma drifts do not change significantly with season and solar cycle except in the midnight-morning sector. The zonal drifts show clear solar cycle and seasonal effects. The afternoon-nighttime eastward drifts increase with solar flux; the westward drifts in the early morning-afternoon sector show a large increase from summer to winter but are independent of solar activity. The two perpendicular velocity components also respond differently to …
Ion Composition Of The Topside Equatorial Ionosphere During Solar Minimum, S. A. Gonzales, Bela G. Fejer, R. A. Heelis, W. B. Hanson
Ion Composition Of The Topside Equatorial Ionosphere During Solar Minimum, S. A. Gonzales, Bela G. Fejer, R. A. Heelis, W. B. Hanson
Bela G. Fejer
We have used observations from both the Bennett ion mass spectrometer and the retarding potential analyzer on board the Atmosphere Explorer E satellite to study the longitudinally averaged O+, H+, and He+ concentrations from 150 to 1100 km in the equatorial ionosphere during the 1975–1976 solar minimum. Our results suggest that the ion mass spectrometer measurements need to be increased by a factor of 2.15 to agree with the densities from the retarding potential analyzer and with ground-based measurements. The peak H+ concentrations are about 2.5×104 cm−3 during the day and 104 cm−3 at night and vary little with season. …
Equatorial Thermospheric Wind Changes During The Solar Cycle: Measurements At Arequipa,Peru From 1983 To 1990, M. A. Biondi, J. W. Meriwether, Bela G. Fejer, S. A. Gonzalesz, D. C. Hallenbeck
Equatorial Thermospheric Wind Changes During The Solar Cycle: Measurements At Arequipa,Peru From 1983 To 1990, M. A. Biondi, J. W. Meriwether, Bela G. Fejer, S. A. Gonzalesz, D. C. Hallenbeck
Bela G. Fejer
Fabry-Perot interferometer measurements of Doppler shifts in the nightglow 630-nm emission line have been used to determine near-equatorial thermospheric wind velocities at Arequipa, Peru, over ∼2/3 of a solar cycle. Monthly-average nocturnal variations in the meridional and zonal wind components were calculated from the nightly data to remove short term (day-to-day) variability, facilitating display of seasonal changes in the wind patterns, as well as any additional changes introduced by the progression of the solar cycle. The measured seasonal variations in the wind patterns are more pronounced than the solar cycle variations and are more readily understandable in terms of the …
Equatorial F-Regionvertical Plasma Drifts During Solar Maxima, Bela G. Fejer, E. R. De Paula, I. S. Batista, E. Bonelli, R. F. Woodman
Equatorial F-Regionvertical Plasma Drifts During Solar Maxima, Bela G. Fejer, E. R. De Paula, I. S. Batista, E. Bonelli, R. F. Woodman
Bela G. Fejer
Incoherent scatter radar measurements at Jicamarca are used to study the effects of large solar fluxes and magnetic activity on the F region vertical plasma drifts. The average drifts from the two last solar maxima are almost identical except in the late afternoon-early evening sector where their variations with solar flux and magnetic activity are strongly season dependent. The average evening winter (May-August) drifts appear to remain almost constant after a certain solar flux level is reached but increase with magnetic activity. The equinoctial evening drifts increase systematically with solar-flux but decrease with magnetic activity. Very large prereversal enhancement velocities, …