The Effects of Magnetic Anomalies Discovered at Mars on the Structure of the Martian Ionosphere and the Solar Wind Interaction as Follows from Radio Occultation Experiments
The electron density distribution in the ionosphere of nonmagnetic (or weakly magnetized) planet depends not only on the solar ultraviolet intensity, but also on the nature of the SW interaction with this planet. Two scenarios previously have been developed based on the observations of the bow shock crossings and on the electron density distribution within the ionosphere. According to one of them Mars has an intrinsic magnetosphere produced by a dipole magnetic field and the Martian ionosphere is protected from the SW flow except during "overpressure conditions, when the planetary magnetic field can not balance the SW dynamic pressure. In the second scenario the Martian intrinsic magnetic dipole field is so weak that Mars has mainly an induced magnetosphere and a Venus-like SW/ionosphere interaction. Today the possible existence of a sufficiently strong global magnetic field that participates in the SW/Mars interaction can no longer be supported. The results obtained by the Mars-Global-Surveyor (MGS) space-craft show the existence of highly variable, but also very localized magnetic fields of crustal origin at Mars as high as 400-1500 nT. The absence of the large-scale global magnetic field at Mars makes it similar to Venus, except for possible effects of the magnetic anomalies associated with the remnant crustal magnetization. However the previous results on the Martian ionosphere obtained mainly by the radio occultation methods show that there appears to be a permanent existence of a global horizontal magnetic field in the Martian ionosphere. Moreover the global induced magnetic field in the Venus ionosphere is not typical at the solar zenith angles explored by the radio occultation methods. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.