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Modeling daytime F layer patches over Sondrestrom
Author(s) -
Decker D. T.,
Valladares C. E.,
Sheehan R.,
Basu Su.,
Anderson D. N.,
Heelis R. A.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/93rs02866
Subject(s) - daytime , convection , atmospheric sciences , longitude , f region , physics , computational physics , latitude , ionosphere , environmental science , meteorology , geophysics , astronomy
A comprehensive, time‐dependent, high‐latitude, one‐species F region model has been developed to study the various physical processes which are believed to affect the polar cap plasma density distributions as a function of altitude, latitude, longitude, and local time. These processes include production of ionization by solar extreme ultraviolet radiation and particle precipitation; loss through charge exchange with N 2 and O 2 ; and transport by diffusion, neutral winds, and convection E × B drifts. In our initial calculations we have modeled highly structured plasma densities characterized by digisonde observations at Sondrestrom using both a time‐dependent global convection pattern and spatially localized regions of transient high‐speed flow. We find that the model is very sensitive to the details of the time‐dependent convection pattern, and both the time dependence and the high‐speed flows contribute to the F ‐region structure. Further, when we use high‐speed flows based on specific radar observations the simulated density structure is in reasonable agreement with that day's digisonde observations.