A comparative study on the ionospheric current systems in the Antarctic and Arctic regions

• Main Author: Wenyao, Xu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 1994
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; The Antarctic; Advances in Polar Science; Antarc*; Polar Science
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2070/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2070/1/A401.000.pdf

The current systems representing the solar and lunar daily variations (S and L) of geomagnetic field have been calculated on the basis of the date obtained from the global network of geomagnetic observatories. The characteristics of these current systems in the Antarctic and Arctic regions have been analyzed comparatively. The results show that: (1) There are certain differences in the current systems of these two regions, that implies definite differences in the ionospheric dynamo process, responsible for bot S and L, and the field-aligned current, responsible for S. The differences of the magnetic field structure in these two polar regions may be the basic reason of the above mentioned differences. (2) There are remarkable differences in the internal current systems of these two polar regions, that is attributed to both the inducing field (current) and the underground conductivity. In general, the conductivity of the Antarctic region is higher than that of the Arctic region.