Publication Date:
2019-06-28
Description:
Neutral composition data obtained by the open-source neutral-mass spectrometer on the polar orbiting Atmosphere Explorer D satellite during the periods October 31 to November 15, 1975, and January 5 to 15, 1976, are used to characterize the response of thermospheric atomic nitrogen densities to geomagnetic activity. These periods provided nearly simultaneous polar and low-latitude data coverage. At low and middle latitudes near dawn and at all latitudes on the dayside, N densities at 400 km appear to vary like those of a species of atomic mass 14: N is observed to increase with increasing geomagnetic activity in a manner similar to that of O. At auroral latitudes near dawn, however, there is a more complex dependence on the amplitude of the disturbance. For substorm-scale activity, N tends to increase during periods of auroral heating but exhibits a sharp temporary decrease afterward. During large storms there is a significant but short-lived increase of N at auroral latitudes. The present results support current models showing that N is produced and transported out of the auroral zone during geomagnetic disturbances.
Keywords:
GEOPHYSICS
Type:
Journal of Geophysical Research (ISSN 0148-0227); 88; Aug. 1
Format:
text
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