Model plasmasphere calculations for L-values near 2.5 at the longitude of Argentine Islands, Antarctica

Abstract

A model of the terrestrial plasmasphere that includes an eccentric dipole geomagnetic field has been developed. Calculations are carried out for tubes of plasma at the longitude of Argentine Islands, Antarctica (64°W). Results for L-values around 2.5 are compared with those obtained in VLF experiments at Faraday that detect whistler signals from NAA and NSS stations in the north east U.S.A. Calculated group delay and Doppler shift of whistler signals are analysed by the usual technique employed by experimenters at Faraday to deduce meridional E × B plasma drift and rate of change of plasma tube content (i.e. ionosphere-plasmasphere flux). The deduced drifts and fluxes are compared with those from the model.