CEDAR: An Investigation of the Anomalous Pedersen Current Driven by the E Region Plasma Turbulence

该项目是对120公里(E区)附近极光电离层中电子携带的电场定向(Pederson)电流的经验估计。通常比离子携带的电流小得多的电子Pederson电流被假设为在强电场条件下由被称为Farley-Buneman波的等离子体不稳定性的耗散所驱动。对这一“异常”Pederson电流的估计将从一个广泛的高纬度磁力计网络测量的地面总磁偏转与使用多波束传输模式的非相干散射雷达(ISR)测量得出的总磁偏转之间的差异来推断。将使用一大组组合磁力仪和ISR数据来对热层/电离层的异常电子Pederson电流和相关的湍流加热率进行统计估计。该项目将包括研究生和本科生参加SRI国际和伍斯特理工学院之间的暑期合作。

This project is to derive empirical estimates of the electric field-aligned (Pederson) current carried by electrons in the auroral ionosphere near 120 km (the E-region). The electron Pederson current, typically much smaller than that carried by ions, is hypothesized to be driven under conditions of strong electric fields by the dissipation of plasma instabilities known as Farley-Buneman waves. Estimates of this "anomalous" Pederson current will be inferred from discrepancies between total ground magnetic deflection as measured by an extensive network of high-latitude magnetometers and that derived from incoherent scatter radar (ISR) measurements using a multiple-beam transmission mode. A large set of combined magnetometer and ISR data will be used to generate statistical estimates of the anomalous electron Pederson current and associated turbulence heating rate of the thermosphere/ionosphere. This project will involve the participation of both graduate and undergraduate students during summer collaborations between SRI International and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.