SAMI II: the NRL low-latitude ionosphere model

Summary form only given. A new low-latitude ionosphere model is has been developed at the Naval Research Laboratory. The model solves the continuity, momentum, and energy equations for ions along a field line from hemisphere to hemisphere. The electron energy equation is also solved. Two models have been developed: collisional and inertial. The collisional model neglects inertial effects in the momentum and energy equations. The inertial model includes these effects so that the model is self-consistent at high altitudes (above 800 km). Seven ion species are considered: H/sup +/, He/sup +/, N/sup +/, O/sup +/, N/sub 2//sup +/, NO/sup +/, and O/sub 2//sup +/. The corresponding neutral species are also considered; the MSIS86 and HWM93 models are used to obtain neural densities and winds. The daytime photodeposition is based upon the solar EUV model of Richards et al. (1994) and the nighttime photodeposition is based upon that of Strobel et al. (1980).