Annales Geophysicae (Feb 2021)
Lower-thermosphere–ionosphere (LTI) quantities: current status of measuring techniques and models
- M. Palmroth,
- M. Palmroth,
- M. Grandin,
- T. Sarris,
- E. Doornbos,
- S. Tourgaidis,
- S. Tourgaidis,
- A. Aikio,
- S. Buchert,
- M. A. Clilverd,
- I. Dandouras,
- R. Heelis,
- A. Hoffmann,
- N. Ivchenko,
- G. Kervalishvili,
- D. J. Knudsen,
- A. Kotova,
- H.-L. Liu,
- D. M. Malaspina,
- D. M. Malaspina,
- G. March,
- A. Marchaudon,
- O. Marghitu,
- T. Matsuo,
- W. J. Miloch,
- T. Moretto-Jørgensen,
- D. Mpaloukidis,
- N. Olsen,
- K. Papadakis,
- R. Pfaff,
- P. Pirnaris,
- C. Siemes,
- C. Stolle,
- C. Stolle,
- J. Suni,
- J. van den IJssel,
- P. T. Verronen,
- P. T. Verronen,
- P. Visser,
- M. Yamauchi
Affiliations
- M. Palmroth
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- M. Palmroth
- Space and Earth Observation Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- M. Grandin
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- T. Sarris
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece
- E. Doornbos
- Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute KNMI, Utrecht, the Netherlands
- S. Tourgaidis
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece
- S. Tourgaidis
- Space Programmes Unit, Athena Research & Innovation Centre, Athens, Greece
- A. Aikio
- Space Physics and Astronomy Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- S. Buchert
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Uppsala, Sweden
- M. A. Clilverd
- British Antarctic Survey (UKRI-NERC), Cambridge, UK
- I. Dandouras
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES, Toulouse, France
- R. Heelis
- Center for Space Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, USA
- A. Hoffmann
- European Space Research and Technology Centre, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, the Netherlands
- N. Ivchenko
- Division of Space and Plasma Physics, Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
- G. Kervalishvili
- GFZ Potsdam, German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
- D. J. Knudsen
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
- A. Kotova
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES, Toulouse, France
- H.-L. Liu
- National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA
- D. M. Malaspina
- Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
- D. M. Malaspina
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
- G. March
- Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
- A. Marchaudon
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, CNES, Toulouse, France
- O. Marghitu
- Institute for Space Sciences, Bucharest, Romania
- T. Matsuo
- Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, USA
- W. J. Miloch
- Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- T. Moretto-Jørgensen
- University of Bergen, Institute of Physics and Technology, Bergen, Norway
- D. Mpaloukidis
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece
- N. Olsen
- DTU Space, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
- K. Papadakis
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- R. Pfaff
- Heliophysics Science Division, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, USA
- P. Pirnaris
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi, Greece
- C. Siemes
- Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
- C. Stolle
- GFZ Potsdam, German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
- C. Stolle
- Faculty of Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- J. Suni
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- J. van den IJssel
- Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
- P. T. Verronen
- Space and Earth Observation Centre, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- P. T. Verronen
- Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Oulu, Sodankylä, Finland
- P. Visser
- Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
- M. Yamauchi
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna, Sweden
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-39-189-2021
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 39
pp. 189 – 237
Abstract
The lower-thermosphere–ionosphere (LTI) system consists of the upper atmosphere and the lower part of the ionosphere and as such comprises a complex system coupled to both the atmosphere below and space above. The atmospheric part of the LTI is dominated by laws of continuum fluid dynamics and chemistry, while the ionosphere is a plasma system controlled by electromagnetic forces driven by the magnetosphere, the solar wind, as well as the wind dynamo. The LTI is hence a domain controlled by many different physical processes. However, systematic in situ measurements within this region are severely lacking, although the LTI is located only 80 to 200 km above the surface of our planet. This paper reviews the current state of the art in measuring the LTI, either in situ or by several different remote-sensing methods. We begin by outlining the open questions within the LTI requiring high-quality in situ measurements, before reviewing directly observable parameters and their most important derivatives. The motivation for this review has arisen from the recent retention of the Daedalus mission as one among three competing mission candidates within the European Space Agency (ESA) Earth Explorer 10 Programme. However, this paper intends to cover the LTI parameters such that it can be used as a background scientific reference for any mission targeting in situ observations of the LTI.
