Abstract
The magnetic measurements by the Ørsted satellite in noon‐midnight orbits have enabled the derivation of the global dawn‐dusk oriented ionospheric currents from an Ampère's law closed loop line integral of the geomagnetic vector field along the satellite track. The globally integrated dawn‐to‐dusk ionospheric current is found to be proportional to the geo‐effective solar wind electric field and is around 1 million ampère for a typical solar wind electric field of 2 mV/m. Dividing the Ampère integral into semi‐orbit parts has enabled us to show that the hemispherical total current intensities depend on the respective polar cap conductivities, which relate to the daily and seasonally varying solar illumination. The more illuminated hemisphere conveys up to three times more current from dawn to dusk than does the less illuminated.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.