Interannual and short-term variations of the Venus nighttime hydrogen bulge
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Taylor, H. A.↗
Engineering topics
Brinton, H. C.
Publications and source records attributed to Brinton, H. C..
Ionospheric plasma bubble encounters or F region bottomside traversals?
Data from in situ Atmospheric Explorer (AE) measurements and ground-based ionosonde measurements of the ion composition and concentration in the equatorial plasma bubbles are analyzed. The ionosonde produced data on the bottomside electron density (NE) profiles and aided in ascertaining the satellite measurements as being in the topside or bottomside of the F layer. The AE data were taken during low latitude evening conditions at various altitudes, and revealed ion compositions consistent with plasma bubbles originating at the altitude of the steep F region bottomside ionization gradient. The lifetimes of NO ions were observed to be short even if the ions were dominant in the regions where the bubbles form. Vertical distortions of tens of kilometers in the equatorial F region occurred in the unstable postsunset period to the extent that the bubble formation area and the bottomside plasma region became virtually indistinguishable.
Benson, R. F.↗
Coordinated airborne and satellite measurements of equatorial plasma depletions
A series of experiments conducted in December 1979 to investigate the structure of plasma depletions in the low latitude, nighttime ionosphere is discussed. Density biteouts of about one order of magnitude in the dominant ion, O(+), are mapped to lower altitudes along magnetic field lines for comparison with 6300-A and 7774-A O I airglow depletions. Owing to the different airglow production mechanisms (dissociative recombination of O2(+) for 6300 A and radiative recombination of O(+) for 7774 A), the 6300-A depletions reflect plasma depletions near the bottomside of the F layer, while those at 7774 A are located near the peak of the layer. The O(+) biteouts map directly into the 7774-A airglow depletions in the same hemisphere and also when traced into the opposite hemisphere, which suggests magnetic flux tube alignment over north-south distances of approximately 2220 km. The 6300-A (bottomside) depletions are found to be wider in longitude than the 7774-A (F-peak) depeletions near the equatorward edge of the Appleton anomaly.
Weber, E. J.↗
Short-term EUV flux variations from AE-E He/+/ abundances
The ionization rate of helium in the thermosphere is inferred from AE-E ion and neutral particle composition measurements made on 20 days from January 1979 to June 1980. The variations in the inferred rate are consistent with variations in the UV flux measured during the same period by the AE-E UV spectrometer. The approximately 27-day modulation of the calculated ionization rate is the result of cyclical variations in the UV flux, which are in turn coupled to the rotation period of the sun. Results indicate that the ionization structure of helium in the thermosphere is closely coupled to both the long and short term EUV flux variations.
Sternberg, A.↗
About the parametric interplay between ionic Mach number, body-size, and satellite potential in determining the ion depletion in the wake of the S3-2 satellite
The variation of ion current depletion in the wake of the U.S. Air Force satellite S3-2 is quantitatively determined, taking into account altitudes in the range from 300 to 1100 km. The considered investigation has the objective to present results which besides of being of scientific interest per se are useful to the planning of future experiments of body-plasma electrodynamic interactions in a supersonic and sub-Alfvenic flow regime to be conducted on board the Shuttle/Spacelab. More specifically, it is expected that the outcome of investigations of the kind presented will be useful in the planning of instrument location on ejectable ensembles of probes and on the Orbiter itself in future Shuttle/Spacelab missions.
Samir, U.↗
EUV flux variations during solar cycle 21 from AE-E He/+/ abundances
The ionization rate of helium in the thermosphere is inferred from AE-E ion and neutral particle composition measurements, made on several days during solar cycle 21, in the context of a steady state photochemical model for helium ions. The inferred ionization rate varies by a factor of 4 between July 1976 and January 1979, a value consistent with the variation in the flux measured during the same period by the EUV spectrometer on board the AE-E satellite.
Oppenheimer, M.↗
Dynamic variations observed in thermal and superthermal ion distributions in the dayside ionosphere of Venus
In-situ measurements of the ion composition and concentration of the ionosphere of Venus are obtained with the Bennett RF ion mass spectrometer (OIMS) on the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO). Dayside ion profiles exhibit considerable variability in the height of the ionopause as well as the scale heights of the ion constituents, which reflect the compression and expansion of the ionosphere in response to solar wind variations. Near the dayside upper boundary of the thermal O+ distribution, super-thermal ions are detected by the OIMS, presenting a complication for identifying the ion signature of the ionopause. Correlated with the presence of the superthermal ions, the ac electric field detector (OEFD) detects regions of intensified signals, with peak response in the 100 Hz frequency channel. It is expected that further analysis of the superthermal ion-electric field signatures will contribute to a clearer understanding of the physical processes underlying the formation of the ionopause.
Taylor, H. A., Jr.↗
Temporal and spatial variations observed in the ionospheric composition of Venus - Implication for empirical modelling
The distributions of several ion species in a data base obtained by in situ measurements of the thermal ion composition of the ionosphere of Venus by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter have been sorted to identify temporal and spatial variations and determine the feasibility of an analytical representation of the experimental results. The first results from the sorting of several prominent ions including O(+), O2(+), and H(+) and several minor ions including CO2(+), C(+), and H2(+) reveal significant diurnal variations which consist of strong day to night contrast in the ion concentrations, with differences of one to two orders of magnitude, depending upon ion mass and altitude. It is suggested that repeatable day to night gradients in the ion distribution are adaptable to parametric modeling.
Taylor, H. A., Jr.↗
Global observations of the composition and dynamics of the ionosphere of Venus - Implications for the solar wind interaction
The in-situ measurements of the global composition and Venus ionosphere dynamics recorded by the Bennett ion mass spectrometer on the Pioneer Venus orbiter during Dec. 1978-Aug. 1979 are presented. The observations of three plasma regimes show the bowshock-ionosheath region, the thermal ionosphere, and a superthermal flowing ion layer contacting the ionosphere at the ionopause and extending outward to different heights above the planet. An abundant ionosphere dominated by O(+) above 200 km and by O2(+) down to the typical periapsis altitudes of 160 km occur during quiet periods; less disturbed data shows strong day to night changes in the distributions of ions including O(+), O2(+), CO2(+), and N(+). The ionopause is located near the subpolar point at 250-400 km; under disturbed nighttime conditions it may have randomly spaced concentration gradients in the dusk region.
Taylor, H. A., Jr.↗
Model calculations of the dayside ionosphere of Venus - Ionic composition
Comprehensive model calculations of the dayside ion density distributions were carried out and compared with results from the Pioneer Venus ion mass spectrometer. The coupled continuity and momentum equations were solved for O2(+), O(+), CO2(+), C(+), N(+), He(+), and H(+) densities for altitudes well away from the ionopause, where the horizontal transport terms are negligible. Chemical equilibrium solutions, describing conditions below about 200 km, were also obtained for N2(+), NO(+), and CO(+). The agreement between the model calculations of ion density and the measurements is good for some species, such as O(+), and rather poor for others, such as CO(+), indicating that while a basic understanding of the major chemical and physical processes controlling the composition and vertical distribution of the dayside Venus ionosphere, well below the ionopause, has been achieved, there are many important details requiring further investigations.
Nagy, A. F.↗
Dynamic properties of the thermosphere inferred from Pioneer Venus mass spectrometer measurements
The data obtained by the Pioneer Venus spectrometer experiments indicate that the day-night temperature contrast on Venus is associated with wind velocities of about 200 m/s which transport oxygen, helium, and hydrogen toward the night side. A mass exchange with the mesosphere commensurate with an eddy diffusion coefficient of 3 x 10 to the 7th is required to buffer the horizontal advection so as to reproduce the observed day time bulge in oxygen and the small diurnal variations in helium. The observed time response and magnitude of the day-night density variations require transport processes to be effective over time periods between five and ten days, implying a superrotation rate or prevailing winds in excess of 50 m/s at the equator. Nonlinear mass transport results in wave steepening and contributes to the amplification of the density extrema in hydrogen and helium.
Mayr, H. G.↗
Venus nighttime hydrogen bulge
The concentration of atomic hydrogen in the Venus thermosphere near 165 km altitude and approximately 18 deg north latitude has been derived from Pioneer Venus in situ measurements of H(+), O(+), O and CO2 concentrations, under the assumption of chemical equilibrium. Altitude profiles of derived H concentration suggest that chemical equilibrium prevails to an altitude of at least 200 km on the dayside and to 165 km on the nightside. Measurements below these limits were made by the ion and neutral mass spectrometers on the orbiter spacecraft between December 1978 and July 1979, while periapsis traversed a complete diurnal cycle. The hydrogen concentration is found to rise sharply at both terminators from a dayside value of approximately 50,000/cu cm, and to exhibit an asymmetric nightside distribution with a peak density in the predawn sector approximately 400 times greater than the dayside value. Analysis suggests that wind-induced diffusion, combined with exospheric return flow, can account for the observed hydrogen behavior. The large day-night temperature contrast enhances advective transport, which produces the large H concentration diurnal variation; the shift of the H concentration nighttime maximum toward dawn is caused by atmospheric superrotation.
Brinton, H. C.↗
Correlations between neutral meridional winds and ion densities observed on AE-E
The southward directed neutral meridional wind and the nighttime ion density simultaneously measured on AE-E for altitudes from 250 to 290 km are compared and found to correlate when the magnetic field inclination is negative and anticorrelate when the inclination is positive. This effect is attributed to neutral winds transporting the ions up or down a field line depending upon the sign of the field-aligned wind and the inclination. Model calculations for the ion density in the presence of a field-aligned wind and ambipolar diffusion are presented. Six examples of this ionospheric response are analyzed and found to be in qualitative and approximate quantitative agreement with the theoretical results.
Wharton, L. E.↗
The dependence of ion density in the wake of the AE-C satellite on the ratio of body size to Debye length in an O/+/-dominated plasma
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Samir, U.↗
The spatial-temporal ambiguity in auroral modeling
The paper examines the time-dependent models of the aurora which show that various ionospheric parameters respond to the onset of auroral ionization with different time histories. A pass of the Atmosphere Explorer C satellite over Poker Flat, Alaska, and ground based photometric and photographic observations have been used to resolve the time-space ambiguity of a specific auroral event. The density of the O(+), NO(+), O2(+), and N2(+) ions, the electron density, and the electron temperature observed at 280 km altitude in a 50 km wide segment of an auroral arc are predicted by the model if particle precipitation into the region commenced about 11 min prior to the overpass.
Rees, M. H.↗
Bennett ion mass spectrometers on the Pioneer Venus Bus and Orbiter
Identical Bennett radio-frequency ion mass spectrometer instruments on the Pioneer Venus Bus and Orbiter have provided the first in-situ measurements of the detailed composition of the planet's ionosphere. The sensitivity, resolution, and dynamic range are sufficient to provide measurements of the solar-wind-induced bow-shock, the ionopause, and highly structured distributions of up to 16 thermal ion species within the ionosphere. The use of adaptive scan and detection circuits and servo-controlled logic for ion mass and energy analysis permits detection of ion concentrations as low as 5 ions/cu cm and ion flow velocities as large as 9 km/sec for O(+). A variety of commandable modes provides ion sampling rates ranging from 0.1 to 1.6 sec between measurements of a single constituent. A lightweight sensor and electronics housing are features of a compact instrument package.
Taylor, H. A., Jr.↗
Ionosphere of Venus - First observations of day-night variations of the ion composition
Preliminary observations of day-night variations in the ion composition of the ionosphere of Venus, obtained by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter ion mass spectrometer experiment, are reported. A remarkable abundance and extent of ionization in the deep regions of the nightside ionosphere was observed, in spite of the long Venus night. A comparison of dayside and nightside ion distributions reveals a nightside composition similar in several respects to that of the dayside, with the ions O(+) and O2(+) forming the nightside F 2 and F 1 regions, respectively, as in the dayside. Important differences include a greater abundance of low-latitude ionization in the nightside, a significant increase of H(+) and NO(+) ions with increasing solar zenith angle, and extreme dynamic variability of the nightside region above 160 km. Ion composition data support the view that the nightside ionosphere can be maintained by the transport of ionization from the dayside.
Taylor, H. A., Jr.↗
Comparison of calculated and measured ion densities on the dayside of Venus
Data from the Pioneer Venus ion mass spectrometers are compared with model calculations of the ion density distributions appropriate for daytime conditions. The model assumes diffusive equilibrium upper boundary conditions for the major ions (O2(+), O(+), CO2(+), He(+), and H(+)); the agreement between the calculated and measured gross behavior of these ions is reasonably good except for H(+), which may be influenced strongly by convective transport processes. The distributions of five minor ions (C(+), N(+), NO(+), CO(+), and N2(+)) are also calculated for the chemically controlled region (less than approximately 200 km); the agreements are, in general, poor, an indication that the present understanding of the Venus minor ion chemistry is still incomplete.
Nagy, A. F.↗