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Upper Atmosphere Density Variations Due to Hydromagnetic Heating

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Abstract

THIS communication describes a mechanism which explains: (1) the irregular orbital accelerations of satellites1,2, and (2) the sudden disappearance of trapped radiation from the Argus nuclear explosion coincident with a geomagnetic storm3. These two observations may be explained by the calculated rates of ionospheric heating by hydromagnetic waves4. The hydromagnetic waves are generated at a distance of six to ten Earth radii from the centre of the Earth by the instabilities as the solar wind interacts with the geomagnetic field, and by variations in solar wind pressure5,6.

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DESSLER, A. Upper Atmosphere Density Variations Due to Hydromagnetic Heating. Nature 184, 261–262 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/184261b0

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