Studies of electron and ion temperatures at 500km altitude during sunrise using Indian SROSS C2 satellite

• Published in: Advances in space research Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 273 - 281
• Main Authors: Aggarwal, Malini, Joshi, H.P., Iyer, K.N., Jivani, M.N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 15-01-2009
• ISSN: 0273-1177
• DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2008.04.006

Solar dependence of electron and ion temperatures (T sub(e) and T sub(i)) in the ionosphere is studied using RPA data onboard SROSS C2 at an altitude of ~500km and 77 super(o)E longitude during early morning hours (04:00-07:00LT) for three solar activities: solar minimum, moderate and maximum during winter, summer and equinox months in 10 super(o)S-20 super(o)N geomagnetic latitude. In winter the morning overshoot phenomenon is observed around 06:00LT (T sub(e) enhances to ~4000K) during low-solar activity and to T sub(e)~3800K, during higher solar activity. In summer, it is observed around 05:30LT, but the rate of T sub(e) enhancement is higher during moderate solar activity (~2700K /hr) than the low-solar activity (~1700K/hr). During equinox, this phenomenon is delayed and is observed around 06:00LT (~4200K) during all three activities. In winter, the T sub(i) shows an enhancement (~2300 from ~700K) around 06:00LT during low-solar activity but during other activities, it raise smoothly with the progress of the morning. In summer, T sub(i) increases at a rate of 260K/hr during low and moderate activities and with half the rate (~130K/hr) during high-solar activity. And in equinox months, the T sub(i) is lower during high-solar activity than in low-solar activity.