[Baps] BU Seminar - Thursday - Mitchell

[Paul Withers]

FYI, Paul

Center for Space Physics Seminar:

Speaker:  Dr. David Mitchell
Affiliation:  University of California, Berkeley
Title: Probing Mars' Crustal Magnetic Field with the MGS Electron
Reflectometer
Date:  Thursday, September 30, 2004
Time:  3:30pm coffee and cookies, 4:00pm talk
Place:  725 Commonwealth Ave. Room 506

Abstract:
Mars' crustal magnetic field is strong and coherent enough in some locations
to stand off the solar wind at >1000 km altitude to form miniature
magnetospheres.  Crustal field lines with large
vertical components in these regions often connect with the interplanetary
magnetic field, forming cusps that allow the
exchange of ionospheric and solar wind plasmas.  In contrast, magnetic
sources in the northern hemisphere are typically so
weak that the solar wind interacts directly with the atmosphere/ionosphere
in a manner similar to that observed at
Venus.  In this talk, I will describe how the MGS Electron Reflectometer is
used to map the strength and topology of Mars'
crustal magnetic fields, to search for new weak magnetic sources, and to
explore the interface between the Mars'
ionosphere and the solar wind.