Investigating the performance of simplified neutral-ion collisional heating rate in a global IT model

Abstract

The Joule heating rate has usually been used as an approximate form of the neutral-ion collisional heating rate in the thermospheric energy equation in global thermosphere-ionosphere models. This means that the energy coupling has ignored the energy gained by the ions from collisions with electrons. It was found that the globally averaged thermospheric temperature (Tn) was underestimated in simulations using the Joule heating rate, by about 11% when F10.7=110 solar flux unit (sfu, 1 sfu = 10-22 W m-2 Hz-1) in a quiet geomagnetic condition. The underestimation of Tn was higher at low latitudes than high latitudes, and higher at F region altitudes than at E region altitudes. It was found that adding additional neutral photoelectron heating in a global IT model compensated for the underestimation of Tn using the Joule heating approximation. Adding direct photoelectron heating to the neutrals compensated for the indirect path for the energy that flows from the electrons to the ions then to the neutrals naturally and therefore was an adequate compensation over the dayside. There was a slight dependence of the underestimation of Tn on F10.7, such that larger activity levels resulted in a need for more compensation in direct photoelectron heating to the neutrals to make up for the neglected indirect heating through ions and electrons. Key Points Using Joule heating rate as the neutral-ion energy coupling led to a cooler thermosphere Neutral photoelectron heating efficiency compensates for the missing heating A slight dependence of the underestimation of Tn on F10.7 such that larger activity levels resulted in a need for more compensation in direct photoelectron heating to the neutrals to make up for the neglected indirect heating through ions and electrons.