Ionospheric Response to Electric Fields - The Earth's Ionosphere: Plasma Physics and Electrodynamics - page 462

SCIFER (40.006 IE)
Electrons

15.8
4.2

1

0.2
0.005

Ions

750
230

50

15
6

Fight Time (s) 300 500 700 900 1100

Altitude (km) 894 1305 1452 1346 979

Oxygen

194
63

20

9
6

Protons

194
63

20

9
6

VLF12

2.0
1.5

1.0

0.5
0

Fight Time (s) 730 750 770 790 810 830

Figure 9.22 Panel 1: Flight overview of electrons from 0.005 to 15.8 keV. Note the
boundary between closed and “open” field lines at about 710 s. Panel 2: Flight overview
of ions from 6 to 750 eV. Panel 3: O + ions from 6 to 194 eV showing the major
transversely accelerated ion (TAI) event at 765-800 s. Panel 4: H + ions from 6 to
194 eV showing the major TAI event at 765-800 s. Panel 5: Electric field (VLF 12)
from 20Hz to 2 kHz showing the major TAI event at 765-800 s. (Figure courtesy of
P. M. Kintner.)

ions perpendicular to the magnetic field. Subsequent work suggests a connection
with small-scale turbulence resulting from the decay of inertial Alfvén waves. The
decay yields wave structures with scale lengths the order of an ion gyroradius,
which can rapidly accelerate ions transversely (Klatt et al., 2005; Chaston et al.,
2006).