Magnetometer and plasma science data from the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 encounters of Jupiter are combined with earlier theoretical analysis by T. W. Hill and V. M. Vasyliunas to determine the total mass outflow rate and radial bulk velocity of the magnetospheric plasma in the Jovian plasma sheet, as well as the height integrated Pedersen conductivity of the Jovian ionosphere. The analysis requires accurate determination of the orientation of the plasma sheet using magnetometer data surrounding the plasma sheet crossing points. This analysis has been applied to fifteen crossings of the Jovian plasma sheet on both the day side and the night side. Results obtained from this analysis are believed to be accurate within a factor of two, and confirm previous order-of-magnitude estimates. Evidence of an enhanced outflow of plasma in the "active hemisphere" of System III longitude is observed on the dayside. On the night side, evidence of plasma inflow and superrotation is seen in the "inactive hemisphere." These two observations lend support to the corotating-convection model of plasma transport in the Jovian magnetosphere.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/15975 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | HAIRSTON, MARC ROTAN |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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