A STUDY OF ATMOSPHERIC HEATING APPLIED TO THE PHENOMENON OF GEOMAGNETIC HEATING,
Abstract
The well-known impulsive increase in satellite drag acceleration accompanying world-wide geomagnetic activity is interpreted to be the consequence of heating and expansion of the neutral upper atmospheric gas. For an assumed one-dimensional heating that is not attached to the geomagnetic field lines, the dominant mode of heat transport is molecular heat conduction above about 100 km. Using approximate analytic Green's functions for the temperature on isobaric surfaces, one can determine the atmospheric properties from the hydrostatic law. Solutions for the time-varying density from a variety of heating distributions are compared with satellite drag observations. Average values of the energy input are given as a function of geomagnetic activity. In addition, the comparison of density time-lag predictions with the observed 6-hr time delays following peak geomagnetic disturbance gives information on how the heating is distributed in time and space. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0679111
Entities
People
- B. K. Ching
- G. E. Thomas
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation