Determination of thermospheric quantities from simple ionospheric observations using numerical simulation

Measured ionospheric electron content and peak electron concentration data are introduced into a numerical simulation of the ionosphere to yield values of induced plasma drifts and exospheric neutral temperatures consistent with the observations. Data collected on 23-24 March 1970 on the East Coast of the U.S.A. are analyzed and the results are in agreement with incoherent radar measurements at Millstone Hill, Massachusetts. Neutral winds and meridional exospheric temperature gradients that give rise to the computed plasma drifts are calculated through the use of a dynamic model of the thermosphere.