Abstract
An overview of ionosphere-thermosphere electrodynamic coupling is presented. Collisions between the charged and neutral constituents of the upper atmosphere couple their respective dynamics and energetics. Magnetic stresses readily transfer momentum and energy over long distances along geomagnetic-field lines, accompanied by electric fields and currents. Consequently, the E and F regions of the ionosphere are strongly coupled, and momentum is transferred between the lower and upper thermosphere through the currents and their associated ion drag. Electrical conductivity mediates the degree of ion-neutral coupling. Conductivity is highly variable, and is itself affected by the electric field in various ways. Thermospheric winds drive the ionospheric wind dynamo. The winds are created by daily absorption of solar radiation in the thermosphere, by upward-propagating solar and lunar tides, by ion-drag acceleration at high latitudes, and by Joule heating at high latitudes. Electric current flows globally in the ionosphere and along geomagnetic-field lines through the magnetosphere. Interactions between the ion and neutral motions produce feedbacks that affect the dynamics of both components. Simulation models of thermosphere-ionosphere-electrodynamic interactions provide powerful tools for investigating the nature of these interactions, and for testing how well the uncertain model inputs and the physics incorporated in the models are able to predict observed features of the ionosphere and thermosphere.
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Acknowledgments
I thank Astrid Maute for providing Fig. 13.2. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This work was supported in part by NSF Award No. ATM-0836386, NASA grant NNX09AN57G, and AFOSR Contract FA9550-08-C-0046.
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Richmond, A.D. (2011). Electrodynamics of Ionosphere–Thermosphere Coupling. In: Abdu, M., Pancheva, D. (eds) Aeronomy of the Earth's Atmosphere and Ionosphere. IAGA Special Sopron Book Series, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0326-1_13
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