A numerical simulation study of the thermospheric winds produced by auroral heating during magnetic storms, and of their global dynamo effects, establishes the main features of the ionospheric disturbance dynamo. Driven by auroral heating, a Hadley cell is created with equatorward winds blowing above about 120 km at mid-latitudes. The transport of angular momentum by these winds produces a subrotation of the mid-latitude thermosphere or westward motion with respect to the earth. The westward winds in turn drive equatorward Pedersen currents which accumulate charge toward the equator, resulting in the generation of a poleward electric field, a westward E × B drift, and an eastward current. When realistic local time conductivity variations are simulated, the eastward mid-latitude current is found to close partly via lower latitudes, resulting in an ‘anti-Sq’ type of current vortex. Both electric field and current at low latitudes thus vary in opposition to their normal quiet-day behavior. This total pattern of disturbance winds, electric fields, and currents is superimposed upon the background quiet-day pattern. When the neutral winds are artificially confined on the nightside, the basic pattern of predominantly westward E × B plasma drifts still prevails on the nightside but no longer extends into the dayside. Considerable observational evidence exists, suggesting that the ionospheric disturbance dynamo has an appreciable influence on storm-time ionospheric electric fields at middle and low latitudes.

The ionospheric disturbance dynamo

In this paper, our current understanding and recent advances in the study of ionospheric storms is reviewed, with emphasis on the F2-region. Ionospheric storms represent an extreme form of space weather with important effects on ground- and space-based technological systems. These phenomena are driven by highly variable solar and magnetospheric energy inputs to the Earth's upper atmosphere, which continue to provide a major difficulty for attempts now being made to simulate the detailed storm response of the coupled neutral and ionized upper atmospheric constituents using increasingly sophisticated global first principle physical models. Several major programs for coordinated theoretical and experimental study of these storms are now underway. These are beginning to bear fruit in the form of improved physical understanding and prediction of ionospheric storm effects at high, middle, and low latitude.

Ionospheric Storms — A Review

It is noted that the model presented here extends the previous description of neutral parameters to the base of the thermosphere in a continuous manner while maintaining the basic structure of the MSIS model at higher altitudes. As the altitude decreases, the composition approaches lower atmosphere values, whereas yearly, and to a lesser extent daily, variations in temperature and density are in reasonable agreement with earlier results for the lower thermosphere. An alternate description is given of magnetic storm variations on the basis of the three hour ap indices and an 8- to 10-hour exponential decay in thermospheric density and temperature response after a heating event. Additional coefficients are included for the time independent and magnetic activity terms, among them a longitudinally dependent seasonal magnetic activity effect. The description of molecular oxygen derives from mass spectrometer and EUV absorption measurements rather than ion chemistry.

A revised thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data - MSIS-83

Measurements of O, He, and Ar from neutral gas mass spectrometers on four satellites (Ogo 6, San Marco 3, Aeros A, and AEC-C) and inferred oxygen and hydrogen densities from an ion mass spectrometer on AE-C have been combined with a neutral temperature and nitrogen density model to produce a global model of thermospheric composition in terms of inferred variations at 120 km. The data set covers the time period from mid-1969 to mid-1975. The MSIS (mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data) model is compared with the Ogo 6 model (Hedin et al., 1974). Ar variations at 120 km tend to be in phase with temperature variations and inverse to the He, O, and H variations.

A global thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data MSIS, 2. Composition

A computer model is used to simulate the winds and temperature variations in the thermosphere which result from auroral region electric currents during a large isolated magnetic substorm. A disturbance propagates with a speed of 750 m/s poleward and equatorward, with an amplitude of about 200 m/s in the north-south velocity and about 100 K in the temperature at 400-km altitude. The amplitude decays relatively little before the disturbance reaches the equator. The time history of the disturbance is roughly that of a single sinusoid whose period increases with horizontal distance from the source and with decreasing altitude. East-west winds of over 400 m/s at 400-km altitude are created in the auroral region itself by the ion drag mechanism. The spatial distribution of these ion drag winds is significantly affected by momentum convection, so that a simple interpretation in terms of local ion drag forces is generally not sufficient. A residual electric field of about 5 mV/m remains after the substorm source is turned off, due to the dynamo effect of the ion drag winds. Vertical velocities up to about 40 m/s are produced inside the auroral region, primarily by the fact that the heated air is more buoyant than the air outside. Comparison of our simulation with numerous observations shows generally good agreement.

Thermospheric response to a magnetic substorm

Energy and diffusive mass transport associated with the thermospheric circulation are considered in a self-consistent, though mathematically relatively simple form to describe in a three-dimensional two-constituent model magnetic storm characteristics in composition (N2, O, and He), temperature and mass-density. It is shown that during disturbed conditions the latitudinal variations of composition and gas temperature T sub g reflect the local nature of the magnetic storm heat input assumed to be primarily confined to the auroral zones. Thereby T sub g and N2 increase, He decreases and O remains constant through the auroral zones at exospheric heights (due to the superposition of temperature and diffusion effects) in agreement with OGO-6 mass spectrometer measurements. In contrast, the magnetic storm response in the total mass density is characterized by a strong world-wide component and a relatively insignificant increase toward the poles with the density peak occurring between two (poles) and eight (equator) hours after the maximum energy input, in substantial agreement with satellite drag data.

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Magnetic storm characteristics of the thermosphere

A three-dimensional model for the annual and semiannual variations of the thermosphere is presented in which energy and diffusive mass transport associated with the global circulation are considered in a self-consistent form It is shown that these processes play a major role in the thermosphere dynamics and account for a number of temperature and compositional phenomena

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Theoretical model for the latitude dependence of the thermospheric annual and semiannual variations

Two-dimensional time dependent diffusion model for phase delay between thermospheric density and temperature

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19710027243/downloads/19710027243.pdf

Diffusion model for the phase delay between thermospheric density and temperature

The semi-annual variation in the thermospheric density is discussed in terms of the spatial and temporal variations in the solar heat input. Two heat sources are considered: the solar heat input associated with the semi-annual migration of the sun, and the auroral heat associated with the semi-annual component in magnetic storms. It is shown that the relatively large global component in the semi-annual effect of the total mass density can be explained by the lack of advective loss which otherwise damps the latitude dependent components in the annual and semi-annual variations, and the significant latitude dependence in the semi-annual variations of composition and temperature can be tied to the diffusion process which is induced by the thermospheric circulation.

/pdf/note-on-the-semiannual-effect-in-the-thermosphere-1a95lqe5rr.pdf

Note on the semiannual effect in the thermosphere

It is shown that density and pressure throughout the thermosphere can be adequately described in a logarithmic expansion that provides a sound basis for the application of perturbation theory. This expansion eliminates most of the important nonlinearities associated with density variations. On the basis of this expansion, the validity of perturbation theory can be extended to cover a large variety of atmospheric conditions in which the relative temperature amplitude is less than 0.5 and wind velocities are significantly less than the speed of sound.

H. Volland

Papers

Magnetic storm characteristics of the thermosphere

Theoretical model for the latitude dependence of the thermospheric annual and semiannual variations

Diffusion model for the phase delay between thermospheric density and temperature

Note on the semiannual effect in the thermosphere

Perturbation theory in thermosphere dynamics