Effect of Electrojet Irregularities on DC Current Flow

The presence of electrojet irregularities has a profound effect on the conductivity of a DC current through the turbulent plasma. One effect of the presence of the irregularities is to make the current deviate from the ExB/B² direction and to be of a different magnitude than predicted from classical binary collision frequencies. This deviation can be thought of as resulting from anomalous collisions which can also be observed as increased dissipation and consequent heating of the plasma in certain height ranges. We consider theoretically the problem of the effect of the electrojet irregularities on the flow DC current through the ionospheric plasma. We do not ask how the irregularities are created, nor what their magnitude might be. We only assume that the irregularities exist and have certain properties which we may know either from theory or from observational data. Using methods involving multiple scattering on the irregularities, applied in theories of heating experiments, we derive expressions for the modified current flow and dissipation, and suggest observations which can relate the current flow, the ionospheric heating and the properties of the electrojet irregularities to the impressed external electric field. In the light of experimental and theoretical data for the electrojet fluctuation spectra we assess the plausibility of the loss mechanism as described.