Ion temperature and density relationships measured by CINDI from the C/NOFS spacecraft during solar minimum

Abstract

The Ion Velocity Meter (IVM), a part of the CINDI instrument package on board the C/NOFS spacecraft, makes in situ measurements of plasma temperature, composition, density, and velocity. The 16 April 2008 launch of C/NOFS coincided with the deepest solar minimum since the space age began with F10.7 cm radio fluxes in the 60–70 solar flux unit range. Because of the 13° inclination of the orbit the location of the perigee advances through all local times in about 66 days. This allows seasonal sampling of ionospheric temperature, density, and composition as a function of local time, magnetic latitude, and altitude. Measurements taken near the spacecraft's 402 km perigee altitude indicate an unusually cold low‐density ionosphere with nighttime ion temperatures at the magnetic equator reaching as low as 600 K with an [O+]/[H+] ratio of 4 and maximum daytime temperatures of 1300 K. The O+ to H+ transition height is very low and at the highest altitudes measured H+ comprises over 75% of the ionospheric plasma at all local times. We compare average values of the measured parameters with those from the International Reference Ionosphere and with incoherent scatter radar measurements from Jicamarca.