Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits

Abstract Ion temperature is one of the key parameters that provides insight into the thermal balance of the coupled ionosphere‐thermosphere system. Together with the temperatures of neutral and electron gases, it affects physical and chemical processes and parameters in the upper atmosphere. These i...

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Autores principales:	L. Lomidze, J. K. Burchill, D. J. Knudsen, J. D. Huba
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2021
Materias:	ion temperature ionosphere Swarm satellites ion energy balance Swarm Electric Field Instrument calibration and validation Astronomy QB1-991 Geology QE1-996.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/98c1e88615ed49768fc57789c816c5c5
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:98c1e88615ed49768fc57789c816c5c5
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:98c1e88615ed49768fc57789c816c5c52021-11-23T21:03:08ZEstimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits2333-508410.1029/2021EA001925https://doaj.org/article/98c1e88615ed49768fc57789c816c5c52021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1029/2021EA001925https://doaj.org/toc/2333-5084Abstract Ion temperature is one of the key parameters that provides insight into the thermal balance of the coupled ionosphere‐thermosphere system. Together with the temperatures of neutral and electron gases, it affects physical and chemical processes and parameters in the upper atmosphere. These include the ion‐neutral collision frequencies, chemical reaction rates and plasma scale height, all of which influence the variation and distribution of ionospheric plasma. The European Space Agency's three, nearly polar‐orbiting Swarm satellites at about 500 km altitude measure ionospheric electron temperature, density, and ion drifts using electric field instrument (EFI) Langmuir probes and Thermal Ion Imagers. Measurements of the ion temperature, though initially planned, are not available due to technical problems with the ion imagers. This paper describes a model that estimates the ion temperature along the orbits of Swarm satellites and evaluates the validity of the corresponding data. This data‐driven, physics‐based model combines an ion heat balance equation of the upper ionosphere, the Swarm EFI measurements, and empirical models for neutral composition, winds, and electric field. The validity of this approach was investigated using a physics‐based ionosphere model (SAMI3) for different geophysical conditions. We have studied the effects of various assumptions and input data limitations to the model accuracy, and have validated the estimated ion temperature against independent measurements from low, middle, and high‐latitude incoherent scatter radars (ISRs). When compared with the ISR data, the obtained Swarm‐based ion temperature shows small systematic errors (1%–2%), high correlations (Swarm A/C 0.8, Swarm B 0.6), and random errors of 10%–20%.L. LomidzeJ. K. BurchillD. J. KnudsenJ. D. HubaAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)articleion temperatureionosphereSwarm satellitesion energy balanceSwarm Electric Field Instrumentcalibration and validationAstronomyQB1-991GeologyQE1-996.5ENEarth and Space Science, Vol 8, Iss 11, Pp n/a-n/a (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	ion temperature ionosphere Swarm satellites ion energy balance Swarm Electric Field Instrument calibration and validation Astronomy QB1-991 Geology QE1-996.5
spellingShingle	ion temperature ionosphere Swarm satellites ion energy balance Swarm Electric Field Instrument calibration and validation Astronomy QB1-991 Geology QE1-996.5 L. Lomidze J. K. Burchill D. J. Knudsen J. D. Huba Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits
description	Abstract Ion temperature is one of the key parameters that provides insight into the thermal balance of the coupled ionosphere‐thermosphere system. Together with the temperatures of neutral and electron gases, it affects physical and chemical processes and parameters in the upper atmosphere. These include the ion‐neutral collision frequencies, chemical reaction rates and plasma scale height, all of which influence the variation and distribution of ionospheric plasma. The European Space Agency's three, nearly polar‐orbiting Swarm satellites at about 500 km altitude measure ionospheric electron temperature, density, and ion drifts using electric field instrument (EFI) Langmuir probes and Thermal Ion Imagers. Measurements of the ion temperature, though initially planned, are not available due to technical problems with the ion imagers. This paper describes a model that estimates the ion temperature along the orbits of Swarm satellites and evaluates the validity of the corresponding data. This data‐driven, physics‐based model combines an ion heat balance equation of the upper ionosphere, the Swarm EFI measurements, and empirical models for neutral composition, winds, and electric field. The validity of this approach was investigated using a physics‐based ionosphere model (SAMI3) for different geophysical conditions. We have studied the effects of various assumptions and input data limitations to the model accuracy, and have validated the estimated ion temperature against independent measurements from low, middle, and high‐latitude incoherent scatter radars (ISRs). When compared with the ISR data, the obtained Swarm‐based ion temperature shows small systematic errors (1%–2%), high correlations (Swarm A/C 0.8, Swarm B 0.6), and random errors of 10%–20%.
format	article
author	L. Lomidze J. K. Burchill D. J. Knudsen J. D. Huba
author_facet	L. Lomidze J. K. Burchill D. J. Knudsen J. D. Huba
author_sort	L. Lomidze
title	Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits
title_short	Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits
title_full	Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits
title_fullStr	Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits
title_full_unstemmed	Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits
title_sort	estimation of ion temperature in the upper ionosphere along the swarm satellite orbits
publisher	American Geophysical Union (AGU)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/98c1e88615ed49768fc57789c816c5c5
work_keys_str_mv	AT llomidze estimationofiontemperatureintheupperionospherealongtheswarmsatelliteorbits AT jkburchill estimationofiontemperatureintheupperionospherealongtheswarmsatelliteorbits AT djknudsen estimationofiontemperatureintheupperionospherealongtheswarmsatelliteorbits AT jdhuba estimationofiontemperatureintheupperionospherealongtheswarmsatelliteorbits
_version_	1718416110259273728

Estimation of Ion Temperature in the Upper Ionosphere Along the Swarm Satellite Orbits

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