Excitation of whistler-mode waves and resonant electron scattering in the Jovian magnetosphere
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Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Williams, D. J..
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During the Galileo inbound pass through the Io torus the plasma wave insturment detected intervals of enhanced whistler-mode emissions.
The magnetotail ion flux measurements from the Geotail spacecraft are analyzed both with and without the application of selection criteria that identify the plasma regime in which an observation is obtained. The different results are compared with each other. The initial results on the changes of energetic ion flux and composition correlated to average substorm activity in different magnetotail plasma regimes are discussed. The energetic ions are measured using the energetic particles and ion composition (EPIC) experiment and the suprathermal ion composition spectrometer (STICS). The plasma, wave and field instruments of the Geotail satellite were used to identify the principle magnetotail plasma regimes of plasma sheet, lobe, and magnetospheric boundary layer, as well as the magnetosheath and solar wind. Energetic O and H ions were observed in all the plasma regimes.
Surface reflectance retrieval from imaging spectrometer data as acquired with the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) has become important for quantitative analysis. In order to calculate surface reflectance from remotely measured radiance, radiative transfer codes such as 5S and MODTRAN2 play an increasing role for removal of scattering and absorption effects of the atmosphere. Accurate knowledge of the exo-atmospheric solar irradiance (E(sub 0)) spectrum at the spectral resolution of the sensor is important for this purpose. The present study investigates the impact of differences in the solar irradiance function, as implemented in a modified version of 5S (M5S), 6S, and MODTRAN2, and as proposed by Green and Gao, on the surface reflectance retrieved from AVIRIS data. Reflectance measured in situ is used as a basis of comparison.
This paper reports a peculiar series of events observed with Geotail on October 24, 1992 at X approximately equals -80 R(sub E). On this day a combination of a bipolar perturbation in B(sub y) and a double-peaked perturbation in B(sub z), signature of a flux rope, was observed. Following this flux rope, bipolar B(sub z) events, identifiable as Traveling Compression Regions (TCRs), were recurrently observed. The axis of the flux rope was deduced to be field-aligned. Energetic ions (electrons) streamed earthward (tailward) in the flux rope. During the TCRs, the E x B flow showed a bipolar north-then-south perturbation, consistent with expected lobe plasma motion. The TCRs corresponded to weak ground magnetic disturbances and Pi2 waves. The observations can be explained by a model in which quasi-stagnant plasmoids are recurrently generated.
The GEOTAIL satellite experienced several encounters with the magnetopause during the interval 0300 to 0600 hours on 27 October 1992 at a gsm location of (X,Y,Z) approximately (-81, -8, 7.5) R(sub e). Energetic ions of both solar wind and ionospheric origin (H(+), He(++), and O(+)) were observed streaming in the anti-solar direction on both the lobe and magnetosheath side of the plasma mantle-magnetosheath boundary, with maximum fluxes occuring at the boundary. Even though the mantle plasma had penetrated well into the lobe through convective drift, the energetic ions were observed only at the magnetopause and provided a clear signature of the boundary region. Using a measured convective drift velocity and observed ergetic particle anisotropies, we estimated that the maximum distance from GEOTAIL that the energetic ions could have been accelerated or made contact with the boundary field lines was less than 8 - 39 R(sub e), implying that both solar wind and ionospheric ions are accelerated and contact the magnetopause many tens of earth radii behind the earth. We further found that the unusual magnetopause positions encountered at this time could be explained in part by solar wind aberration effects. However additional processes (e. g., magnetospheric breathing modes, convoluted tail topologies) are required to fully explain these observations.
The Geotail satelite detected a filament of tailward-streaming energetic particles spatially separated from the boundary layer of energetic particles at the high-latitude dawn magnetopause at a downstream distance of approximately 80 R(sub E) on October 27, 1992. During this event, the composition and charge states of energetic ions at energies above approximately 10 keV show significant intermix of ions from solar wind and ionospheric sources. Detailed analysis leads to the deduction that the filament was moving southward towards the neutral sheet at an average speed of approximately 80 km/s, implying an average duskward electric field of approximately 1 mV/m. Its north-south dimension was approximately 1 R(sub E) and it was associated with an earthward directed field-aligned current of approximately 5 mA/m. The filament was separated from the energetic particle boundary layer straddling the magnetopause by approximately 0.8 R(sub E) and was inferred to be detached from the boundary layer at downstream distance beyond approximately 70 R(sub E) in the distant tail.
Energetic atomic (O(+1) and N(+1)) and molecular (O2(+1), NO(+1), and N2(+1)) ions of ionospheric origin were observed in Earth's magnetotail at X approximately -146 R(sub E) during two plasma sheet sunward/tailward flow-reversal events measured by instruments on the GEOTAIL spacecraft. These events were associated with concurrent ground-measured geomagnetic disturbance intensification at auroral-and mid-latitudes (Kp = 7(-)). Energetic ions in the sunward-component and tailward flows were from both the solar wind and ionosphere. Plasma and energetic ions participated in the flows. During tailward flow, ionospheric origin ion abundance ratios at approximately 200-900 km/s in the rest frame were N(+1)/O(+1) = approximately 25-30% and ((O2(+1), NO(+1), and N2(+1))/O(+1) = approximately 1-2%. We argue that tailward flow most likely initiated approximately 80-100 R(sub E) tailward of Earth and molecular ions were in the plasma sheet prior to geomagnetic intensification onset.
On December 8, 1990, the Galileo spacecraft used the Earth for a gravity assist on its way to Jupiter. Its trajectory was such that it crossed geosynchronous orbit at approximately local midnight between 1900 and 2000 UT. At the same time, spacecraft 1984-129 was also located at geosynchronous orbit near local midnight. Several flux dropout events were observed when the two spacecraft were in the near-Earth plasma sheet in the same local time sector. Flux dropout events are associated with plasma sheet thinning in the near-profile of the near-Earth plasma sheet while 1984-129 provided an azimuthal profile. With measurements from these two spacecraft we can distinguish between spatial structures and temporal change. Our observations confirm that the geosynchronous flux dropout events are consistent with plasma sheet thinning which changes the spacecraft's magnetic connection from the trapping region to the more distant plasma sheet. However, for this period, thinning occurred on two spatial and temporal scales. The geosynchronous dropouts were highly localized phenomena of 30 min duration superimposed on a more global reconfiguration of the tail lasting approximately 4 hours.
Crown closure is one of the input parameters used for forest growth and yield modelling. Preliminary work by Staenz et al. indicates that imaging spectrometer data acquired with sensors such as the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) have some potential for estimating crown closure on a stand level. The objectives of this paper are: (1) to establish a relationship between AVIRIS data and the crown closure derived from aerial photography of a forested test site within the Interior Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic zone in British Columbia, Canada; (2) to investigate the impact of atmospheric effects and the forest background on the correlation between AVIRIS data and crown closure estimates; and (3) to improve this relationship using multiple regression analysis.
Observations of highly structured bursts of Langmuir waves produced by energetic electrons ejected from a solar flare using wideband plasma wave measurements on the Galileo spacecraft are reported. Attention is given to the solar flare that occurred on December 10, 1990, while the spacecraft was at a radial distance of 0.98 AU from the sun. This flare emitted a stream of energetic electrons and an associated type III radio event, both of which were detected by Galileo. A large number of intense Langmuir wave bursts were detected near the local electron plasma frequency, which was about 25 kHz. The bursts, which lasted about 1.5 hr, coincided with the arrival of the solar electrons. The bursts are highly structured and consist mainly of isolated wave packets with durations as short as 1 ms and beat-type waveforms with beat frequencies ranging from 200 to 500 Hz. The highly structured envelopes of these waves are strongly suggestive of nonlinear parametric decay processes such as those predicted by various theories dealing with the saturation of beam-driven electrostatic instabilities.
The demonstrated and developing methods for global magnetospheric imaging are presented and the scientific expectations of having global observations in conjunction with local measurements are discussed. The global observations of the previously invisible magnetosphere will provide the first look at the overall magnetosphere, its dynamics, and the interactions between its component parts. The capability of imaging magnetospheric plasmas marks the first occasion where an astrophysical plasma system which has been well characterized by in situ measurements, i.e., the earth's magnetosphere, can also be characterized globally by remote sensing.
Amongst its complement of particles and fields instruments, the Galileo spacecraft carries an Energetic Particles Detector (EPD) designed to measure the characteristics of particle populations important in determining the size, shape, and dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere. To do this the EPD provides 4pi angular coverage and spectral measurements for Z greater than or equal to 1 ions from 20 keV to 55 MeV, for electrons from 15 keV to greater than 11 MeV, and for the elemental species helium through iron from approximately 10 keV/nucl to 15 MeV/nucl. Two bidirectional telescopes, mounted on a stepping platform, employ magnetic deflection, energy loss versus energy, and time-of-flight techniques to provide 64 rate channels and pulse height analysis of priority selected events. The EPD data system provides a large number of possible operational modes from which a small number will be selected to optimize data collection during the many encounter and cruise phases of the mission. The EPD employs a number of safeing algorithms that are to be used in the event that its self-checking procedures indicate a problem. The instrument and its operation are described.
The structure of the flank low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL) is examined through differential energy spectra and particle angular anisotropies for traversals of the dawn flank (December 19, 1977) and dusk flank (July 7, 1978) during periods of predominantly northward magnetosheath field orientation. Spectra are presented that were obtained from combined ISEE 1 low-energy-proton and electron-differential-energy-analyzer and medium-energy-particle-instrument data extending over the 200-eV/q to 2-MeV energy range for the plasma sheet, stagnation region, outer LLBL, and magnetosheath regions. The stagnation region and the outer LLBL are each a mixture of plasma-sheet and magnetosheath populations, but the stagnation region contains a relatively higher fraction of plasma sheet particles, consistent with its placement earthward of the outer LLBL. Evidence for energization of thermal electrons appears during the dusk flank crossing. Bidirectional field-aligned ion distributions are observed with typically 5-to-1 enhancement of the flux along the magnetic field during certain portions of the dusk flank crossing.
At Venus the Energetic Particles Detector (EPD) on the Galileo spacecraft measured the differential energy spectra and angular distributions of ions above about 22 keV and electrons above about 15 keV in energy. The only time particles were observed by EPD was in a series of episodic events near closest approach (0559:03 UT). Angular distributions were highly anisotropic, ordered by the magnetic field, and showed ions arriving from the hemisphere containing Venus and its bow shock. The spectra showed a power law form with intensities observed into the 120- to 280-keV range. Comparisons with model bow shock calculations show that these energetic ions are associated with the Venusian foreshock-bow shock region. Shock-drift acceleration in the Venusian bow shock seems the most likely process responsible for the observed ions.
Throughout most of the growth phase of a substorm, the cross-tail current at x about -10 Re can be supplied by the curvature drift of a bi-directional field aligned distribution of 1 keV electrons. Just prior to its local disruption after substorm onset, the cross-tail current in the now thin (about 400 km) current sheet is carried by the cross-tail serpentine motion of non-adiabatic ions (Speiser, 1965). The instability of this latter current leads to the local disruption of the near-earth current sheet.
ISEE-1 observations of ion and electron energization made at 11 RE during a substorm event on April 2, 1978 are presented. An analysis of the dominant cross-tail current systems in this event (Mitchell et al., 1990) has made it possible to uniquely associate particle energization processes with the development and/or disruption of the cross-tail currents. It is found that significant ion acceleration occurs as the ions participate in serpentine cross-tail motion (Speiser, 1965), establishing the dominant plasma sheet current system just prior to onset. As this current disrupts, the magnetic field configuration dipolarizes and further ion energization and the bulk of the electron energization occurs. During dipolarization energization is due primarily to the inductive electric field, including betatron and Fermi acceleration processes.
A long-lasting Pc 5 pulsation at the dawn flank of the magnetosphere is studied using particle and field instrumentation from the ISEE 1 and 2 satellites. Electric field and particle modulation signatures were clearer than magnetic field variations, consistent with the satellites' position in latitude near the equatorial node of a fundamental resonance. Pulsation flow velocities along the ISEE 1 trajectory were calculated from particle characteristics using data from several instruments and from electric and magnetic field data. These flow velocities were all consistent with each other, but the velocities derived from plasma and energetic particle observations were a factor of 2.5 larger than velocities derived from the fields data. In contrast to observations of pulsations during magnetic storms, which often involve resonant or gyrating particle behavior, particles at all energies sampled (10 eV to 200 keV) appeared to respond passively to the pulsation throughout most of the period of interest.