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On the equatorial transport of Saturn's ionosphere as driven by a dust‐ring current system
Author(s) -
Ip W.H.,
Mendis D. A.
Publication year - 1983
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/gl010i003p00207
Subject(s) - ionosphere , saturn , ring current , current (fluid) , physics , atmospheric sciences , convection , magnetosphere , geophysics , plasma , environmental science , meteorology , astronomy , planet , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
The diurnal modulation of the dust ring current of Saturn's D‐ring causes field‐aligned Birkeland currents to flow near the dawn and dusk terminators and close across the mid‐latitude ionosphere. One consequence of this current system is the establishment of a global convection pattern in the equatorial outer ionosphere. Outward motion of the dayside ionospheric plasma as well as the corresponding absorption effect of the inner ring system might be one physical cause of the depletion of the ionospheric content of Saturn.