Activities of the RIMS instrument during the extended mission are planned. The modes of operation for RIMS to achieve the science requirements utilizing the new and exciting information on the composition and dynamics of the low energy (0-50eV) ions in the Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere are determined. The specific science problems and the required RIMS operational modes needed to acquire the desired data are identified. The analysis was performed on the RIMS data to achieve the science results and this new information was used in determining RIMS operations during the latter part of the mission. Necessary sensitivity tests of RIMS operating modes and instrument performance was suggested. The inflight results was compared with theoretical models

Banks, P. M.

Clauer, C. R.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

INTERIM AND FINAL REPORT
(to fulfill reporting requirements from
September 1981 through present)
concerning
DYNAMICS-A EXPLORER RIMS DATA ANALYSIS
CONTRACT NUMBER: NAS8-34430
Prof. P. M. Banks (P.I.)
Dr. C. R. Clauer (Co.I.)
(NASA-CB-178689) DYHAMICS-A IXP10HEE BJMS N86-20435
D A T A ANALYSIS Interim Final Beport, 17 Sep.
1981 - 30 Sep. 1965 (Stanford Oniv.) 6 p
HC A02/HF A01 CSCL 22A Onclas
G3/12 05HH6
Submitted to:
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
Contracting Officer:
Doris M. Grubbs
Leland Stanford Jr. University
Space, Telecommunications, and Radioscience Laboratory
Stanford, California 94305
September, 1985
FEB198 6
RECEIVED
KASASTl FACILITY
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19860010964 2020-03-20T15:20:04+00:00Z
Interim and Final Report
NASA Contract No. NAS8-34430
Covering the Interval 9/17/81 - 9/30/85
Dynamics-A Explorer RIMS Data Analysis
• OBJECTIVES
1. Participate in the planning activities of the RIMS instrument during the
extended mission. These activities will be to determine the modes of
operation for RIMS to achieve the science requirements utilizing the new and
exciting information on the composition and dynamics of the low energy
(0-50eV) ions in the earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere. The contractor
will identify the specific science problems he is interested in studying and the
required RIMS operational modes to acquire the desired data and coordinate
these requirements with MSFC.
2. Perform the necessary analysis on the RIMS data to achieve the science
results and utilize this new information in determining RIMS operations
during the latter part of the mission Suggest necessary sensitivity tests of
RMS operating modes and instrument performence.
3. Compare the inflight results with theoretical models.
• WORK PERFORMED AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
1. Sept. 1981 - Sept. 1983
During this interval of the contract, the scientific investigation focused on a theoretical
explanation of the large verticle acceleration experienced by ionospheric heavy ions at
high latitudes and observed by RIMS. This analytical investigation examined the
electrodynamic forces on particles which E x B drift in a converging magnetic field
geometry such as exists at the earth's polar ionosphere. The drifting particle would
experience an upward "mirror force" due to gradients in the field experienced by the
particle as it drifts. Unfortunatly, after considerable time was spent in deriving the
appropriate equations in a dipolar coordinate system, it was determined that this
mechanism was insufficient to account for the observed large acceleration of heavy ions.
During this time interval, the contract provided partial support for numerical modeling
of high latitude processes. In particular, an electrodynamics model built to describe the
global electric field resulting from arbitrary distributions of field-aligned current and
conductivity was adapted to run on the laboratory's VAX computer. The code was used
to investigate the consequences of various current configurations in the polar cleft region.
The original code, developed by T. Araki of Kyoto University during a sabbtical stay at
Utah State University, ran originally on the NCAR Cray computer.
Also during this interval, an experimental program of high latitude observation of
ionospheric electrodynamics was initiated using the Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland
incoherent scatter radar. The experiments were focused in the region of the polar cleft
with the goal of describing the morphology and electrodynamic behavior of currents
which connect the solar wind with the high latitude ionosphere. These experimental
observations were funded by another source and brought no cost against this contract.
Several of the experimental investigations, however, were coordinated with the DE
satellite and coordinated analysis of the resulting data sets was anticipated.
Unfortunatly, processing of the DE data has been slow and no data sets for correlative
study were obtained for study during this period.
In addition, at the beginning of this time interval the principal investigator of this
contract was installing himself and his research group at Stanford University. Contract
funds were used to acquire equipment necessary to the research effort, including
computer terminals, modems and a microfiche reader and printer. Plans were also
developed during this period for a STARlab computer system to be linked to MSFC via
the SPAN DECnet.
1.1. Papers Presented at Meetings
The contract provided partial support for the preparation and presentation of two
papers at scientific meetings from September 1981 through September 1983.
1. Clauer, C. R., "Solar wind control of geomagnetic activity", presented at the
Huntsville Solar-Terrestrial Meeting, October, 1982.
2. Clauer, C. R., P. M. Banks, E. Friis-Christensen, V. B. Wickwar, J. D. Kelly,
O. de la Beaujardiere, J. R. Doupnik, J. C. Foster, T. S. Jorgensen,
E. Friis-Christensen, and T. Araki, "Coordinated observations of the polar
cusp", presented at the IUGG XVIIIth General Assembly, Hamburg,
Germany, August, 1983.
2. Oct. 1983 - Sept. 1985
Major efforts during this interval focused on three topics: (1) Modeling the distribution
of field-aligned currents in the polar cleft and the resulting high latitude ionospheric
electric field and their response to variations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF),
(2) Correlative observations at conjunctions between DE and the Sondre Stromfjord,
Greenland incoherent scatter radar in the vicinity of the polar cleft and (3) Data
management and correlative data analysis using computer networks and SPAN in
particular.
A great deal of progress has been obtained in our effort to model the configuration of
field-aligned currents in the dayside polar cleft and the control of these currents by the
solar wind. The computer model calculates the ionospheric electric potential distribution
for a given configuration of field-aligned currents and conductivity distribution. By
setting the currents based on IMF observations obtained from the IMP-8 spacecraft, the
time varying ionospheric electric field and the resulting plasma convection can be
simulated. This, in turn, can then be compared with observations of the high latitude
plasma convection in the vicinity of the polar cleft obtained using the Sondrestrom
radar. Several events have been examined and the agreement between the radar
simulation and observation is quite impressive. For some of the events examined, there
exist conjugate observations between the Sondrestrom radar and the DE, HTTAT and
DMSP satellites. These intervals are:
1. 84 March 7 (day 067)
2. 84 March 16 (day 076)
3. 84 March 20 (day 080)
Plots of the ionospheric convection observed by the Sondrestrom radar along with a
discription of the events are enclosed in the appendix to this report. These intervals
have been selected as DE Science Passes and the intervals have been processed. We are
presently working with Dr. Bill Peterson at Lockheed and Hunter Waite at MSFC to
assemble the correlated observations. It is hoped that coordinated analysis of these
correlated data sets will provide more specific constraints on the input parameters used
in the computer simulation and a better understanding of the electrodynamic coupling of
the solar wind with the high latitude ionosphere in the polar cleft. DE RIMS data will
be examined in these events to determine the relative locations of the ionospheric
convection reversal boundary, the location of field-aligned currents, the location of
plasma precipitation and the location of upward flowing accelerated ionospheric ions.
An initial paper presenting this work will be given at the Fall meeting of the American
Geophysical Union, Clauer, (1985).
The contract has also provided partial support to another major effort to develope data
management techniques and software suitable to the coordinated analysis of data from a
variety of experiments and sources. The result of this effort has been the development of
the data management software called FLATDBMS. A paper, recently submitted to EOS,
describing this software is enclosed in the appendix of this report. FLATDBMS has been
very effictive in the management of data for correlative work using a variety of data
sets. FLATDBMS is presently in use at Stanford in the STAR Laboratory as well as
several other space science research laboratories includeing UCLA, Los Alamos,
Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory, Utah State University, Johns Hopkins Applied
Physics Laboratory and the University of Newcastle (Australia). In addition, we have
recently had requests for the code from Imperial College (London), the Space Research
Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory.
Many of these laboratories are connected via the Space Physics Analysis Network
(SPAN) and the use of FLATDBMS has facilitated collaboration and analysis of data
over the network.
2.1. Papers Presented at Meetings
1. Banks, P M , "The ionosphere as a source of magnetospheric plasma",
invited review presented at the Yosemite meeting, Planetary Plasma
Environments: A Comparative View, February, 1984.
2. Clauer, C. R., "Field-aligned currents and ionospheric electric fields in the
vicinity of the dayside polar cleft: Observation and model', to be presented
at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, December, 1985.
2.2. Publications
1. Smith, Anne Q., and C. Robert Clauer, "A versatile, source independent
system for digital data management", submitted to EOS, Trans. American
Geophys. Union, September, 1985.
3. Budget
Interim and Final Report
MAS 8-34430
Dynamics-A Explorer RIMS Data Analysis
Prof P M Banks, Principal Investigator
September. 1985
Report Period: 9/81 through 9/83 10/83 through 9/85
Total Contract Value:
Total Cumulative Costs:
Percentage of Funds Expended:
Estimated Percentage of Physical Completion:
Estimated Costs to Complete:
$71,592
$56,304
19%
19%
$15,288
$81,492
$81,487
100*
100*
$5
Significant Variance of Funds Expended
to Percentage of Physical Completion None None


Dynamics-A explorer RIMS data analysis

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