What is an Adequate Standard of Living During Retirement?

Many economists and policy-makers argue that households do not save enough to maintain an adequate standard of living during retirement. However, there is no consensus on the answer to the underlying question what this standard should be, despite the fact that it is crucial for the design of saving incentives and pension reforms. We address this question with a survey, individually tailored to each respondent’s financial situation, conducted both in the U.S. and the Netherlands. Key findings are that adequate levels of retirement spending exceed 70 percent of working life spending, and minimum acceptable replacement rates depend strongly on income.Life cycle preferences;pension reform;replacement rates;retirement saving

Theoretical Study of the Effect of Ionospheric Return Currents on the Electron Temperature

An electron heat flow can occur in a partially ionized plasma in response to either an electron temperature gradient (thermal conduction) or an electron current (thermoelectric heat flow). The former process has been extensively studied, while the latter process has received relatively little attention. Therefore a time-dependent three-dimensional model of the high-latitude ionosphere was used to study the effect of field-aligned ionospheric return currents on auroral electron temperatures for different seasonal and solar cycle conditions as well as for different upper boundary heat fluxes. The results of this study lead to the following conclusions: (1) The average, large-scale, return current densities, which are a few microamps per square meter, are too small to affect auroral electron temperatures. (2) Current densities greater than about 10−5 A m−2 are needed for thermoelectric heat flow to be important. (3) The thermoelectric effect displays a marked solar cycle and seasonal dependence. (4) Thermoelectric heat transport corresponds to an upward flow of electron energy. (5) This energy flow can be either a source or sink of electron energy, depending on the altitude and geophysical conditions. (6) Thermoelectric heat transport is typically a sink above 300 km and acts to lower ambient electron temperatures by as much as 2000 K for field-aligned return current densities of the order of 5 × 10−5 A m−2. For this case, the electron temperature decreases with altitude above 300 km with a gradient that can exceed 1 K km−1. Also, the electron temperature can drop below both the ion and neutral temperatures in the upper F region owing to thermoelectric cooling. (7) A downward magnetospheric heat flux in combinations with an upward thermoelectric heat flux can produce steep positive electron temperature gradients in the topside ionosphere

Global Scale, Physical Models of the \u3ci\u3eF\u3c/i\u3e Region Ionosphere

During the last decade, ionospheric F region modeling has reached an accurate climatological level. We now have global computer models of the F region which simulate the interactions between physical processes in the ionosphere. Because of their complexity, these climatological models are confined to modern day supercomputers. This review focuses on the development and verification of these physical ionospheric models. Such models are distinct from local models, steady state models, and empirical models of the ionosphere, which are, by their conception, unable to represent physically the range of F region variability or storm dynamics. This review examines the limitations of the physical models, which are at the present time mainly associated with inputs to the ionospheric system. Of these, the magnetospheric electric field and auroral precipitation are by far the most dominant and yet the least well-defined dynamic inputs. Several developments are currently under way which could well lead to meteorological modeling capabilities in the next decade. For this the use of higher-resolution inputs, both temporal and spatial (for example, auroral imagery), is critical. Coupling the ionospheric models with thermospheric and magnetospheric models will lead to self-consistency and probably a predictive capability. Coupling to thermospheric models is currently under way; however, coupling with the magnetosphere must await the development of a magnetospheric model

Dayside midlatitude ionospheric response to storm time electric fields: A case study for 7 September 2002

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95503/1/jgra21582.pd

Probing Fine-Scale Ionospheric Structure with the Very Large Array Radio Telescope

High resolution (~1 arcminute) astronomical imaging at low frequency (below 150 MHz) has only recently become practical with the development of new calibration algorithms for removing ionospheric distortions. In addition to opening a new window in observational astronomy, the process of calibrating the ionospheric distortions also probes ionospheric structure in an unprecedented way. Here we explore one aspect of this new type of ionospheric measurement, the differential refraction of celestial source pairs as a function of their angular separation. This measurement probes variations in the spatial gradient of the line-of-sight total electron content (TEC) to 0.001 TECU/km accuracy over spatial scales of under 10 km to over 100 km. We use data from the VLA Low-frequency Sky Survey (VLSS; Cohen et al. 2007, AJ 134, 1245), a nearly complete 74 MHz survey of the entire sky visible to the Very Large Array (VLA) telescope in Socorro, New Mexico. These data comprise over 500 hours of observations, all calibrated in a standard way. While ionospheric spatial structure varies greatly from one observation to the next, when analyzed over hundreds of hours, statistical patterns become apparent. We present a detailed characterization of how the median differential refraction depends on source pair separation, elevation and time of day. We find that elevation effects are large, but geometrically predictable and can be "removed" analytically using a "thin-shell" model of the ionosphere. We find significantly greater ionospheric spatial variations during the day than at night. These diurnal variations appear to affect the larger angular scales to a greater degree indicating that they come from disturbances on relatively larger spatial scales (100s of km, rather than 10s of km).Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astronomical Journa

How uncertainty in the neutral wind limits the accuracy of ionospheric modeling and forecasting

One of the most important input fields for an ionospheric model is the horizontal neutral wind. The primary mechanism by which the neutral wind affects ionospheric densities is the inducement of an upward or downward ion drift along the magnetic field lines; this affects the rate at which ions are lost through recombination. The magnitude of this effect depends upon the dip angle of the magnetic field; for this reason, the impact of the neutral wind is somewhat less in polar regions than at mid-latitudes. It is unfortunate that observations of the neutral wind are relatively scarce, as compared for example with observations of the Earth’s electric field or auroral precipitation, and that the existing climatological models of the neutral wind are thus sharply limited in theirresolution. The observational data base of thermospheric winds is not sufficient to adequately constrain a three-dimensional model across a variety of conditions such as solar cycle, season, geomagnetic activity, and so on. Using the physics-based Time Dependent Ionospheric Model (TDIM) of Utah State University, we look for a quantitative answer to this question: How severe is the limitation imposed on ionospheric models by an uncertain specification of the neutral wind? We find that ionospheric modeling depends upon a detailed specification of the neutral wind to the extent that, if a climatologically averaged wind model is being used as a driver, this will lead to unavoidable uncertainties of 20-30% in the modeled F-region densities or Total Electron Content (TEC)

Mechanisms underlying the prereversal enhancement of the vertical plasma drift in the low-latitude ionosphere

The evening prereversal enhancement (PRE) of the vertical plasma drift has important consequences for the Appleton density anomaly and the stability of the nighttime ionosphere. Simplified simulations were used to review the three competing theories of the PRE origin, to explore their relative importance, and to indentify their interdependence. The mechanisms involved in the generation and climatology of the PRE are, first, a curl-free electric field response to rapid changes in the vertical electric field associated with the nighttime F region dynamo; second, a divergence of Hall currents in the E region away from the magnetic equator; and, third, the moderating effect of the large Cowling conductivities in the equatorial E region. The simulations indicate that the equatorial Cowling conductivity creates an important current path that limits the other two mechanisms prior to equatorial sunset and releases them after equatorial sunset. The curl-free mechanism is the dominant mechanism when the terminator and magnetic meridian are aligned in part due to the accelerating F region zonal wind. When the solar terminator is not aligned with the magnetic meridian, there is an interaction involving all three mechanisms contributing to the magnitude and timing of the PRE. Finally, the altitude profile of the PRE decays more quickly with altitude when the curl-free mechanism dominates as compared to when the Hall current mechanism dominates. ©2015. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

Ionospheric ion temperature forecasting in multiples of 27 days

he ionospheric variability found at auroral locations is usually assumed to be unpredictable. The magnetosphere, which drives this ionospheric variability via storms and substorms, is at best only qualitatively describable. In this study we demonstrate that over a 3 year period, ionospheric variability observed from Poker Flat, Alaska, has, in fact, a high degree of long-term predictability. The observations used in this study are (a) the solar wind high speed stream velocity measured by the NASA Advanced Composition Explorer satellite, used to define the corotating interaction region (CIR), and (b) the ion temperature at 300 km altitude measured by the National Science Foundation Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar over Poker Flat, Alaska. After determining a seasonal and diurnal climatology for the ion temperature, we show that the residual ion temperature heating events occur synchronously with CIR-geospace interactions. Furthermore, we demonstrate examples of ion temperature forecasting at 27, 54, and 81 days. A rudimentary operational forecasting scenario is described for forecasting recurrence 27 days ahead for the CIR-generated geomagnetic storms. These forecasts apply specifically to satellite tracking operations (thermospheric drag) and emergency HF-radio communications (ionospheric modifications) in the polar regions. The forecast is based on present-day solar and solar wind observations that can be used to uniquely identify the coronal hole and its CIR. From this CIR epoch, a 27 day forecast is then made

A Theoretical Study of the High-Latitude Winter F Region at Solar Minimum for Low Magnetic Activity

We combined a simple plasma convection model with an ionospheric-atmospheric composition model in order to study the high-latitude winter F region at solar minimum for low magnetic activity. Our numerical study produced time dependent, three-dimensional ion density distributions for the ions NO+, O2 +, N2 +, O+, N+, and He+. We covered the high-latitude ionosphere above 54°N magnetic latitude and at altitudes between 160 and 800 km for a time period of one complete day. The main result we obtained was that high-latitude ionospheric features, such as the ‘main trough,’ the ‘ionization hole,’ the ‘tongue of ionization,’ the ‘aurorally produced ionization peaks,’ and the ‘universal time effects,’ are a natural consequence of the competition between the various chemical and transport processes known to be operating in the high-latitude ionosphere. In addition, we found that (1) the F region peak electron density at a given location and local time can vary by more than an order of magnitude, owing to the UT effect that results from the displacement between the geomagnetic and geographic poles; (2) a wide range of ion compositions can occur in the polar F region at different locations and times; (3) the minimum value for the electron density in the main trough is sensitive to nocturnal maintenance processes; (4) the depth and longitudinal extent of the main trough exhibit a significant UT dependence; (5) the way the auroral oval is positioned relative to the plasma convection pattern has an appreciable effect on the magnetic local time extent of the main trough; (6) the spatial extent, depth, and location of the polar ionization hole are UT dependent; (7) the level of ion production in the morning sector of the auroral oval has an appreciable effect on the location and spatial extent of the polar ionization hole; and (8) in the polar hole the F region peak electron density is below 300 km, and at 300 km, diffusion is a very important process for both O+ and NO+. Contrary to the suggestion based on an analysis of AE-C satellite data obtained in the polar hole that the concentration of NO+ ions is chemically controlled, we find diffusion to be the dominant process at 300 km