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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 101, NO. A2,
PAGES 2269–2278,
1996
Joule heating by ac electric fields in the ionosphere of Venus
K. D. Cole
Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
W. R. Hoegy
Laboratory for Atmospheres, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
Abstract
It is shown that Joule heating from electron collision damping of ac electric fields could be a significant source of energy
for electrons in the Venus ionosphere if they occur naturally on a large scale. On the assumption that the fields are due
to electromagnetic waves on a planetary scale, we calculate heating rates implied by observations on the day side and compare
them with the profiles of photoelectron heating rates used by modelers. It is found that sufficient amplitudes have been measured
on Pioneer Venus Orbiter in the frequency channels of 730 and 100 Hz to cause greater local electron heating rates than that
due to photoelectrons, up to 3 orders of magnitude in some cases. Nightside heating rates at low altitudes for the 100-Hz
signal would cause great heating of the ionosphere and thermosphère, airglow, and aurora. The difficulties produced by these
findings would be relieved if the electric field disturbances were closely confined to the spacecraft or at least were much
less than planetary in scale.
Received 16
February
1994;
accepted 1
June
1995.
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Citation: Cole, K. D., and W. R. Hoegy
(1996),
Joule heating by ac electric fields in the ionosphere of Venus,
J. Geophys. Res.,
101(A2),
2269–2278.
This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. Published in 1996 by the
American Geophysical Union.
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