Plasma depletions in the Martian ionosphere as detected by MAVEN
Abstract
We report on observations from plasma and magnetic field instruments on board the MAVEN spacecraft collected in the ionosphere of Mars at altitudes between 200 and 400 km. The plasma measurements from the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS) and the Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW) instruments show strong depletions of plasma during several flybys of the spacecraft.
Initial analysis shows that the depletions occur at different locations around the planet, both with respect to surface features and to the subsolar point, suggesting different processes at play. In this contribution, we present results from a statistical analysis of the signatures encountered from the beginning of the mission until the first half of 2018, with over 200 events presenting similar features. We test different hypotheses referring to the origin of the depletions, both from a statistical point of view and on a case-by-case basis in order to provide an insight into the possible causes behind these features.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.P51H2979R
- Keywords:
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- 2437 Ionospheric dynamics;
- IONOSPHEREDE: 2459 Planetary ionospheres;
- IONOSPHEREDE: 5435 Ionospheres;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETSDE: 5443 Magnetospheres;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLID SURFACE PLANETS