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Observations of ions of ionospheric origin in the storm‐time ring current
Author(s) -
Johnson R. G.,
Sharp R. D.,
Shelley E. G.
Publication year - 1977
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/gl004i010p00403
Subject(s) - ring current , ionosphere , geomagnetic storm , storm , range (aeronautics) , ion , atmospheric sciences , altitude (triangle) , physics , current (fluid) , environmental science , magnetosphere , meteorology , geophysics , solar wind , nuclear physics , materials science , plasma , thermodynamics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , composite material
O + , He + , and H + ions in the energy range 0.5 to 16 keV have been observed in the storm‐time ring current with an energetic ion mass spectrometer aboard the polar‐orbiting S3‐3 satellite. During the main phases of the 29 December 1976, 6 April 1977, and 19 April 1977 magnetic storms, the O + number density within the instrument energy range in the inner ring current (L = 2.8‐4.0) was larger than the H + density in the altitude range from about 5000‐7000 km. At two days after the main phase of the 29 December 1976 storm, O + was still the dominant ion at MLT = 14.5 hours in the L = 2.6‐3.4 range at altitudes near 6000 km.