The equatorial helium ion trough and the geomagnetic anomaly
The latitudinal characteristics of He+ in the equatorial region are compared with those of O+ and H+. These ions, in different altitude regions, exhibit certain features which are characteristics of the ionospheric geomagnetic anomaly. It is shown that the latitudinal distributions of these ions are related to their vertical distribution at the equator via their respective scale heights and the geomagnetic dipole geometry. To a first order, the positions of the latitudinal maxima of a given ion may be related to its peak altitude at the equator by a proposed expression.