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The 3D model of the plasmasphere coupled to the ionosphere
Author(s) -
Pierrard V.,
Voiculescu M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2011gl047767
Subject(s) - plasmasphere , ionosphere , trough (economics) , geophysics , geology , radar , international reference ionosphere , physics , magnetosphere , plasma , tec , total electron content , computer science , telecommunications , quantum mechanics , economics , macroeconomics
The 3D dynamic model of the plasmasphere developed by Pierrard and Stegen (2008) has been coupled with the ionospheric IRI model. In addition to the electron number density, the plasmaspheric model is also developed to include the temperature profiles of the different particles and ion composition at altitudes from 60 to 2000 km. Results of the model for the F region trough are compared with coincident observations of middle and top ionosphere by means of satellite tomography and radar measurements. A good match between the model and observations supports the idea that the present model is useful for investigating physical mechanism involved in the plasmasphere‐ionosphere coupling and for acquiring information about the plasmaspheric behaviour based on ionospheric observations.