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Mccormick, P. T.

Publications and source records attributed to Mccormick, P. T..

9 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Plasma motion in the Venus ionosphere - Transition to supersonic flow

A remarkable feature of the ionosphere of Venus is the presence of nightward supersonic flows at high altitude near the terminator. In this paper it is shown that the relatively high pressure dayside plasma wells up slowly, and at high altitude it is accelerated horizontally through a relatively constricted region near the terminator toward the low-density nightside. In effect, the plasma flows through a 'nozzle' that is first converging, then diverging, permitting the transition to supersonic flow. The model plasma accelerates to supersonic speeds, reaching sonic speed just behind the terminator. The ion transport rates are sufficient to produce and maintain the nightside ionosphere.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

The dynamics of the ionosphere of Mars at large solar zenith angles

A model of the ion chemistry and dynamics of the ionosphere of Mars at large solar zenith angles has been constructed using techniques previously developed for Venus. It is found that a substantial nighttime ionosphere should occur even when the ionopause height is as low as 250 km. At low altitudes the interaction of the plasma flow with the neutral atmosphere appears to result in considerable 'noise' in the flow patterns. Transterminator plasma velocities are smaller than for Venus, although they may exceed the local sonic speed. The effect of a nocturnal source of suprathermal electrons is also discussed.

Mccormick, P. T.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Dynamics of the Venus ionosphere revisited

The Whitten et al. (1984) dynamical model of the Venus ionosphere is presently modified in order to obtain a better match between observations and predictions. It is found that the nighttime ion densities are comparatively insensitive to the height of the ionopause above a value of 450 km. The density increases by only about 25 percent when the ionopause is raised to 800 km, but is noted to be very sensitive to the choice of a neutral model atmosphere, and to the ion and electron temperatures that influence both plasma scale height and ion diffusivity.

Mccormick, P. T.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Dynamics of the Venus ionosphere - A two-dimensional model study

A two-dimensional model of the ionosphere of Venus which simulates ionospheric dynamics by self-consistently solving the plasma equations of motion, including the inertial term, in finite difference form has been constructed. The model, which is applied over the solar zenith angle range extending from 60 to 140 deg and the altitude range 100 to 480 km, simulates the measured horizontal velocity field quite satisfactorily. The ion density field is somewhat overestimated on the dayside, because of the choice model neutral atmosphere, and underestimated on the nightside, because of setting the ionopause height at too low an altitude. It is concluded that solar photoionization on the dayside and ion recombination on the nightside are the processes mainly responsible for accelerating the plasma to the observed velocities. The plasma flow appears to be sufficient to maintain the nightside ionosphere at or near the observed median level of ion densities.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1976

On the energy deposition of photoelectrons in the atmosphere of Venus

Vertical components of photoelectron fluxes in the atmosphere of Venus are computed by solving an appropriate form of the Boltzmann equation in the cases where there is no flux of either photoelectrons or solar-wind particles across the ionopause and where photoelectrons are free to escape from the atmosphere. It is assumed that Venus has no magnetic field and that the atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide, atomic oxygen, and helium. The results are plotted as a function of altitude for several energies in the range from 100 eV to a cutoff of the order of 1 eV. Heating rates for the two upper boundary conditions and the case of no spatial transport are determined which show that transport effects dominate at altitudes greater than about 200 km. Electron temperatures are calculated for the adopted model atmosphere and ionosphere by solving the pertinent conservation equation, and excitation rates are computed for the CO Cameron band as well as the CO2(+) A and B bands.

Mccormick, P. T.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Elementary introduction to the Green's function

A technique, using the method of variation of parameters for solving differential equations, is developed for introducing Green's functions early in an undergraduate curriculum. Various examples are presented.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1972

On the effect of departures from spherical symmetry upon the bistatic-radar occultation experiment.

The dependence of residual phase shifts upon the angle of inclination of the orbit for a model Martian atmosphere is examined. It is found that departures from spherical symmetry in the electron number density profiles result in changes of as much as an order of magnitude in the phase shifts of radio waves passing through the atmosphere and ionosphere of the model. These results confirm the earlier findings of Pirraglia and Gross (1970).

Mccormick, P. T.↗