Abstract Measurements of ionospheric F-region peak electron densities, peak heights and atomic oxygen 630 nm airglow emission column intensities, carried out at a low-latitude station located at Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S, 45.0°W; dip latitude 11.9°S), in Brazil, are analyzed and compared with the ionospheric parameters predicted by the SLIM and by the IRI ionospheric models. The MSIS neutral atmosphere model is used with the IRI model to calculate the 630 nm nightglow emission intensities. This comparative analysis considers data representative of the summer, winter and equinox seasons, obtained during the high solar activity period around 1980. Reasonably good agreement is obtained between the local time variations of the ionospheric and airglow data, and the IRI model predicted parameter variations, but the SLIM model overestimates the F-region peak heights especially during the late afternoon and nighttime hours. These height discrepancies are explained in terms of the strong longitudinal dependence of the electromagnetic E × B vertical plasma drifts and thermospheric neutral winds, which greatly influences the dynamics of the low-latitude ionospheric plasma and airglow emissions. Due to the importance of the relative alignement condition between terminator and magnetic meridian, with its longitudinal and seasonal dependence, on the vertical plasma drifts around sunset, it is suggested that the SLIM ionospheric model should separately consider the longitudinal zones of positive, negative or zero magnetic declination.
A comparative study of low-latitude ionospheric and OI 630nm nightglow observations with the SLIM and IRI models
Advances in Space Research ; 12 , 6 ; 275-278
01.01.1991
4 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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