M. D. Montgomery

Solar wind heavy ion abundances

During periods in 1969–1971 when interplanetary flow conditions were quiet, 17 determinations of the solar wind Fe and Si abundances and 7 of the O abundance were made. On the average 〈N(Fe)/N(H)〉 = 5.3 × 10-5, 〈N(Si)/N(H)〉 = 7.6 × 10-5 and 〈N(O)/N(H)〉 = 5.2 × 10-4. Variations from the averages over a total range of factors of ∼4 for O, ∼4 for Si, and ∼ 10 for Fe have have observed. Although Fe and Si abundance variations appear to be correlated, no other element correlation pairs are unambiguously discernible from the present data set.