Ionosphere

Relationship of the atmosphere and ionosphere

The ionosphere (/aɪˈɒnəˌsfɪər/) is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth. Closest to the surface of Earth, the ionosphere is about 48 km (30 mi) away. It goes on up to 965 km (600 mi) above sea level.

The outer limits of the ionosphere

The plasma fountain (or polar wind) in the Earth's atmosphere. The drawing shows bright yellow (next to the green colored area). That orange area is supposed to show ions (that come from gas in the atmosphere) that are escaping from the atmosphere (into space). The escape of those oxygen ions and hydrogen ions and helium ions, are part of the plasma fountain effect. The atmosphere (including the ionosphere) near the North pole and South pole, goes higher above the surface of Earth, than in other places. The drawing shows the area near the North pole, and the plasma fountain. The drawing does not show the area near the South pole (and gas escaping from the atmosphere there).

Much research has been done on Plasma fountain (or Polar wind). Satellites have been used (since the 1960's), when doing research. Some of them are ISIS-2, Dynamics Explorer, the Akebono satellite, and the Polar satellite. That research has covered different places above the surface of Earth. Those places are at different altitudes and latitudes. Research has also been done at different times of [one or more] solar cycles.

In 2007, a research paper said that Plasma fountain (or Polar wind) is "an ambipolar outflow of thermal plasma from the [the ionosphere near the North pole and South pole, or] high-latitude ionosphere"; That plasma moves from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere.

Decades of research has led to a body of scientific work; A thing that it says, is that there is at least one electric field on the outer limits (of the ionosphere).

The electric field gets called different things, such as

• polarization field (and polarization electric field)
• ambipolar field (and ambipolar electric field)

Causes of the plasma fountain (or polar wind)

About 30 years of research [as of the 2020s], says that the cause of the plasma fountain (or polar wind) is ambipolar outflow of thermal plasma: ion acceleration by a polarization electric field at high altitudes. The polarization electric field or ambipolar electric field was originally proposed in the 1920s for ionized stellar atmospheres.

The field is very small but, unlike other forces, it points away from gravity. In low-density plasma at high altitude (above Earth), it overwhelms gravity for light ions.

Ionosphere Media

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  Ionospheric layers. At night the E layer and F layer are present. During the day, a D layer forms and the E and F layers become much stronger. Often during the day the F layer will differentiate into F1 and F2 layers.

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  Ionospheric sub-layers from night to day indicating their approximate altitudes

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  Lightning sprites.

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  Main gases of the ionosphere (about and above on this chart) vary considerably by altitude

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  Overview of ionosphere phenomena

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  Electric currents created in sunward ionosphere.

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  Properties of Earth's Upper Atmosphere

Related pages

• Kennelly-Heaviside layer