SA22A-04
Measurements from the Daytime Dynamo Sounding Rocket missions: Altitude Profiles of Neutral Temperature, Density, Winds, and Con Composition
Tuesday, 15 December 2015: 11:05
2016 (Moscone West)
James H Clemmons1, Rebecca L Bishop2, Robert F Pfaff Jr3 and Douglas E. Rowland3, (1)Aerospace Corporation El Segundo, El Segundo, CA, United States, (2)Aerospace Corporation Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (3)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Sci. Div., Greenbelt, MD, United States
Abstract:
Results from the two Daytime Dynamo sounding rocket missions launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, in July 2011 and July 2013 are presented and discussed. Measurements returned by the rockets’ multiple-sensor ionization gauge instrumentation are used to derive profiles vs. altitude of neutral temperature, density, and, using a new technique, winds. The techniques used are described in detail and the resulting profiles discussed in the context of the daytime atmospheric dynamo. The profiles are also compared to those of established models. Also presented are measurements returned by the high-speed ion mass spectrometer on the 2011 flight. The measurements show the dominance of NO+ ions up to apogee at 160 km, but also reveal a significant admixture of O2+ ions below an intense daytime sporadic-E layer observed at 100.5 km.
