Effects of Crustal Fields on the Ionosphere of Mars as seen by MAVEN

Mars lacks a global intrinsic magnetic field but possesses regions of strong crustal magnetic field that are concentrated in the southern hemisphere. Previous studies have used Mars Global Surveyor or Mars Express data to show that these crustal fields influence the electron densities in the Martian ionosphere. However, many of these studies relied on remote radio occultation or radar sounding measurements and therefore relied on models to infer the crustal magnetic field strength and direction. In fall 2015 the MAVEN spacecraft passed through these crustal field regions at low altitudes, on the day side, and collected comprehensive measurements of the local plasma and magnetic field properties. The MAVEN observations therefore provide an excellent dataset with which to examine the effects of crustal fields on the ionosphere. We report on the MAVEN electron density measurements in the southern crustal field regions and discuss the influence of the magnetic field direction and topology on the dayside Martian ionosphere.