Bibliography





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Found 80 entries in the Bibliography.


Showing entries from 1 through 50


2021

Longitudinal Variation of Postsunset Plasma Depletions From the Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) Mission

The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission, launched in 2018, aims to investigate the low latitude ionosphere from a geostationary orbit at 47.5°W. It uses two identical spectrometers measuring the wavelength range from 134.0 to 163.0 nm. The configuration of the Earth s magnetic field shows that the largest offset between geographic and geomagnetic equators occurs in the longitude sectors sampled by GOLD. In an attempt to investigate the longitude dependence of the occurrence rate and time of onset of plasma bubbles, or plasma depletions, GOLD data were separated in three sectors: 65°-55°W, 50°-40°W, and 10°W–0°. Observations of the nighttime emissions in 135.6 nm on November 2018 and March 2019 show plasma depletions occurring very frequently at these longitudes. The growth rate of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability was computed at these longitudes under similar low solar activity conditions, assuming an empirical model of upward plasma drifts. The time and value of the maximum growth rates obtained cannot always explain the observations. On average, the observed occurrence rate of plasma depletions is high, with a maximum of 73\% (observed during November 2018 at ∼45°W). Most of the depletions observed in November at 45°W and 60°W occur within 1 h after sunset. When compared with the November 2018 observations, depletions in March 2019 occur at later times.

Martinis, C.; Daniell, R.; Eastes, R.; Norrell, J.; Smith, J.; Klenzing, J.; Solomon, S.; Burns, A.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2020JA028510

F region; longitude variability; plasma bubbles; Plasma depletions; upward drifts

Deducing Non-Migrating Diurnal Tides in the Middle Thermosphere With GOLD Observations of the Earth's far Ultraviolet Dayglow From Geostationary Orbit

The global-scale observations of the limb and disk (GOLD) Mission images middle thermosphere temperature and the vertical column density ratio of oxygen to molecular nitrogen (O/N2) using its far ultraviolet imaging spectrographs in geostationary orbit. Since GOLD only measures these quantities during daylight, and only over the ∼140° of longitude visible from geostationary orbit, previously developed tidal analysis techniques cannot be applied to the GOLD data set. This paper presents a novel approach that deduces two specified non-migrating diurnal tides using simultaneous measurements of temperature and O/N2. DE3 (diurnal eastward propagating wave 3) and DE2 (diurnal eastward propagating wave 2) during October 2018 and January 2020 are the focus of this paper. Sensitivity analyses using TIE-GCM simulations reveal that our approach reliably retrieves the true phases, whereas a combination of residual contributions from secondary tides, the restriction in longitude, and random uncertainty can lead to ∼50\% error in the retrieved amplitudes. Application of our approach to GOLD data during these time periods provides the first observations of non-migrating diurnal tides in measurements taken from geostationary orbit. We identify discrepancies between GOLD observations and TIE-GCM modeling. Retrieved tidal amplitudes from GOLD observations exceed their respective TIE-GCM amplitudes by a factor of two in some cases.

Krier, Christopher; England, Scott; Greer, Katelynn; Evans, Scott; Burns, Alan; Eastes, Richard;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2021JA029563

airglow; composition; temperature; thermosphere; tides

First Comparison of Traveling Atmospheric Disturbances Observed in the Middle Thermosphere by Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk to Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Seen in Ground-Based Total Electron Content Observations

Traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) and their neutral counterparts known as traveling atmospheric disturbances (TADs) are believed to play a role in communicating inputs to other locations in the fluid. While these two phenomena are believed to be connected, they may not have a one-to-one correspondence as the geomagnetic field influences the TID but has no direct impact on the TAD. The relative amplitudes of the perturbations seen in the ionosphere and atmosphere have been observed but rarely together. This study reports results from a 3-day campaign to observe TIDs and TADs simultaneously over a broad latitudinal region over the eastern United States using a combination of Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) and a distributed network of ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. These results demonstrate that GOLD and the ground-based total electron content (TEC) observations can see the atmospheric and ionospheric portions of a large-scale traveling disturbance. The phase difference in the perturbations to the GOLD airglow brightness, O/N2 and thermospheric disk temperature are consistent with an atmospheric gravity wave moving through this region. The ionospheric signatures move at the same rate as those in the atmosphere, but their amplitudes do not have a simple correspondence to the amplitude of the signal seen in the atmosphere. This campaign demonstrates a proof-of-concept that this combination of observations is able to provide information on TIDs and TADs, including quantifying their impact on the temperature and chemical composition of the upper atmosphere.

England, Scott; Greer, Katelynn; Zhang, Shun-Rong; Evans, Scott; Solomon, Stanley; Eastes, Richard; McClintock, William; Burns, Alan;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2021JA029248

Ionosphere; thermosphere; airglow; atmospheric waves

2020

Modeled IMF B y Effects on the Polar Ionosphere and Thermosphere Coupling

There is still an inadequate understanding of how the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) east-west component (By) affects thermospheric composition, and other ionospheric and thermospheric fields in a systematic way. Utilizing the state-of-art first-principles Coupled Magnetosphere Ionosphere Thermosphere (CMIT) modeling and TIMED/Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI)-observed ΣO/N2 covering an entire solar cycle (year 2002\textendash2016), as well as a neutral parcel trajectory tracing technique, we emphasize that not only the direction of By, but also its strength relative to the IMF north-south component (Bz) that has important effects on high latitude convection, Joule heating, electron density, neutral winds, and neutral composition patterns in the upper thermosphere. The Northern Hemisphere convection pattern becomes more twisted for positive By cases than negative cases: the dusk cell becomes more rounded compared with the dawn cell. Consequently, equatorward neutral winds are stronger during postmidnight hours in negative By cases than in positive By cases, creating a favorable condition for neutral composition disturbances (characterized by low ΣO/N2) to expand to lower latitudes. This may lead to a more elongated ΣO/N2 depletion area along the morning-premidnight direction for negative By conditions compared with the positive By conditions. Backward neutral parcel trajectories indicate that a lower ΣO/N2 parcel in negative By cases comes from lower altitudes, as compared with that for positive By cases, leading to larger enhancements of N2 in the former case.

Liu, Jing; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Zhang, Yongliang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 02/2020

YEAR: 2020     DOI: 10.1029/2019JA026949

Thermospheric composition O/N response to an altered meridional mean circulation during sudden stratospheric warmings observed by GOLD

Oberheide, J; Pedatella, NM; Gan, Q; Kumari, K; Burns, AG; Eastes, RW;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI:

First zonal drift velocity measurement of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles (EPBs) from a geostationary orbit using GOLD data

Karan, Deepak; Daniell, Robert; England, Scott; Martinis, Carlos; Eastes, Richard; Burns, Alan; McClintock, William;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI:

Variations of lower thermospheric FUV emissions based on GOLD observations and GLOW modeling

Greer, KR; Eastes, Richard; Solomon, Stan; McClintock, William; Burns, Alan; Rusch, David;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI:

Modeled IMF By effects on the polar ionosphere and thermosphere coupling

Liu, Jing; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Zhang, Yongliang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI:

Comparison of GOLD nighttime measurements with total electron content: Preliminary results

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Global‐scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) has been imaging the thermosphere and ionosphere since

Cai, Xuguang; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Coster, Anthea; Qian, Liying; Liu, Jing; Solomon, Stanley; Eastes, Richard; Daniell, Robert; McClintock, William;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI: 10.1029/2019JA027767

Initial observations by the GOLD mission

Given that previous measurements of ΔΣO/N 2 from low Earth orbit (LEO) have proven invaluable in advancing our understanding of the TI system (eg, TIMED/GUVI), GOLD data have

Eastes, RW; McClintock, WE; Burns, AG; Anderson, DN; Andersson, L; Aryal, S; Budzien, SA; Cai, X; Codrescu, MV; Correira, JT; , others;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI: 10.1029/2020JA027823

Global-scale observations and modeling of far-ultraviolet airglow during twilight

The NASA Global‐scale Observations of the Limb and Disk ultraviolet imaging spectrograph performs observations of upper atmosphere airglow from the sunlit disk and limb of the Earth

Solomon, Stanley; Andersson, Laila; Burns, Alan; Eastes, Richard; Martinis, Carlos; McClintock, William; Richmond, Arthur;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2020     DOI: 10.1029/2019JA027645

2019

Annual and Semiannual Oscillations of Thermospheric Composition in TIMED/GUVI Limb Measurements

The Global UltraViolet Imager (GUVI) onboard the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite provides a data set of vertical thermospheric composition (O, N2, and O2 densities) and temperature profiles from 2002\textendash2007. Even though GUVI sampling is limited by orbital constraint, we demonstrated that the GUVI data set can be used to derive the altitude profiles of the amplitudes and phases of annual oscillation (AO) and semiannual oscillation (SAO), thereby providing important constraints on models seeking to explain these features. We performed a seasonal and interannual analysis of GUVI limb O, O2, and N2 densities and volume number density ratio O/N2 at constant pressure levels. These daytime observations of O and O/N2 in the lower thermosphere show a strong AO at midlatitudes and a clear SAO at lower latitudes. The global mean GUVI O/N2 number density ratio shows the AO, with slightly larger values in January than in July and a SAO with O/N2 greater during equinoxes than at the solstices. O and N2 densities on fixed pressure levels in the upper thermosphere are anticorrelated with solar extreme ultraviolet flux. On the other hand, O/N2 is smaller during solar minimum and larger during solar maximum. The thermospheric AO and SAO in composition have a constant phase with altitude throughout the thermosphere.

Yue, Jia; Jian, Yongxiao; Wang, Wenbin; Meier, R.R.; Burns, Alan; Qian, Liying; Jones, M.; Wu, Dong; Mlynczak, Martin;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 04/2019

YEAR: 2019     DOI: 10.1029/2019JA026544

Global-scale Observations of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly

Abstract The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk ultraviolet spectrograph has been imaging the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA), regions of the ionosphere with enhanced electron density north and south of the magnetic equator, since October 2018. The initial 3 months of observations was during solar minimum conditions, and they included observations in December solstice of unanticipated variability and depleted regions. Depletions are seen on most nights, in contrast to expectations from previous space-based observations. The variety of scales and morphologies also pose challenges to understanding of the EIA. Abrupt changes in the EIA location, which could be related to in situ measurements of large-scale depletion regions, are observed on some nights. Such synoptic-scale disruptions have not been previously identified.

Eastes, R.; Solomon, S.; Daniell, R.; Anderson, D.; Burns, A.; England, S.; Martinis, C.; McClintock, W.;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on:

YEAR: 2019     DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL084199

Equatorial ionosphere; ionospheric irregularities; ionospheric dynamics; Ionospheric storms; forecasting; airglow and aurora

Composition Changes Around the Equinoxes

Burns, Alan; Cai, Xuguang; Wang, Wenbin; Qian, Liying; Zhang, Yongliang; Eastes, Richard; McClintock, William;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2019     DOI:

IMF B y Effects on the high-latitude Ionosphere and Thermosphere

Liu, Jing; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Zhang, Yongliang;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2019     DOI:

2018

On the Responses of Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere Temperatures to Geomagnetic Storms at Low and Middle Latitudes

Observations from lidars and satellites have shown that large neutral temperature increases and decreases occur in the middle and low latitudes of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region during geomagnetic storms. Here we undertake first-principles simulations of mesosphere and lower thermosphere temperature responses to storms using the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model to elucidate the nature and causes of these changes. Temperature variations were not uniform; instead, nighttime temperatures changed earlier than daytime temperatures, and temperatures changed earlier at high latitudes than at low ones. Furthermore, temperatures increased in some places/times and decreased in others. As the simulation behaves similar to observations, it provides an opportunity to understand physical processes that drive the observed changes. Our analysis has shown that they were produced mainly by adiabatic heating/cooling that was associated with vertical winds resulting from general circulation changes, with additional contributions from vertical heat advection.

Li, Jingyuan; Wang, Wenbin; Lu, Jianyong; Yuan, Tao; Yue, Jia; Liu, Xiao; Zhang, Kedeng; Burns, Alan; Zhang, Yongliang; Li, Zheng;

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 08/2019

YEAR: 2018     DOI: 10.1029/2018GL078968

Temporal Variability of Atomic Hydrogen From the Mesopause to the Upper Thermosphere

We investigate atomic hydrogen (H) variability from the mesopause to the upper thermosphere, on time scales of solar cycle, seasonal, and diurnal, using measurements made by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics satellite, and simulations by the National Center for Atmospheric Research Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model-eXtended (WACCM-X). In the mesopause region (85 to 95\ km), the seasonal and solar cycle variations of H simulated by WACCM-X are consistent with those from SABER observations: H density is higher in summer than in winter, and slightly higher at solar minimum than at solar maximum. However, mesopause region H density from the Mass-Spectrometer-Incoherent-Scatter (National Research Laboratory Mass-Spectrometer-Incoherent-Scatter 00 (NRLMSISE-00)) empirical model has reversed seasonal variation compared to WACCM-X and SABER. From the mesopause to the upper thermosphere, H density simulated by WACCM-X switches its solar cycle variation twice, and seasonal dependence once, and these changes of solar cycle and seasonal variability occur in the lower thermosphere (~95 to 130\ km), whereas H from NRLMSISE-00 does not change solar cycle and seasonal dependence from the mesopause through the thermosphere. In the upper thermosphere (above 150\ km), H density simulated by WACCM-X is higher at solar minimum than at solar maximum, higher in winter than in summer, and also higher during nighttime than daytime. The amplitudes of these variations are on the order of factors of ~10, ~2, and ~2, respectively. This is consistent with NRLMSISE-00.

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Solomon, Stan; Smith, Anne; McInerney, Joseph; Hunt, Linda; Marsh, Daniel; Liu, Hanli; Mlynczak, Martin; Vitt, Francis;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 01/2018

YEAR: 2018     DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024998

Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD): science implementation

McClintock, William; Eastes, Richard; Andersson, Laila; Burns, Alan; Codrescu, Mihail; Daniell, Robert; England, Scott; Evans, Scott; Krywonos, Andrey; Lumpe, Jerry; , others;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2018     DOI:

Seasonal Variation Analysis of Thermospheric Composition in TIMED/GUVI Limb Measurements

Knowledge of thermospheric variability is essential to the understanding and forecasting of ionospheric behavior and space weather. As well, thermospheric density variability is a vital ingredient for prediction of space objects orbital changes and the lifetime of spacecraft. The Global UltraViolet Imager (GUVI) onboard the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite provides the first global dataset of thermosphere composition (O, N2 and O2 densities) and temperature vertical profiles from 2002-2007.

Yue, Jia; Meier, Robert; Jian, Yongxiao; Yee, Jeng-Hwa; Wu, Dong; Russell, James; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan;

Published by: 2018 Triennial Earth-Sun Summit (TESS      Published on:

YEAR: 2018     DOI:

Interplanetary Magnetic Field By Effects on the Polar Neutral Composition

Liu, Jing; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2018     DOI:

Physical processes driving the thermospheric variations during the March 2015 St. Patrick's day major geomagnetic storm

Wang, Wenbin; Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Liu, Jing;

Published by: 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly      Published on:

YEAR: 2018     DOI:

2017

The Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) Mission

The Earth\textquoterights thermosphere and ionosphere constitute a dynamic system that varies daily in response to energy inputs from above and from below. This system can exhibit a significant response within an hour to changes in those inputs, as plasma and fluid processes compete to control its temperature, composition, and structure. Within this system, short wavelength solar radiation and charged particles from the magnetosphere deposit energy, and waves propagating from the lower atmosphere dissipate. Understanding the global-scale response of the thermosphere-ionosphere (T-I) system to these drivers is essential to advancing our physical understanding of coupling between the space environment and the Earth\textquoterights atmosphere. Previous missions have successfully determined how the \textquotedblleftclimate\textquotedblright of the T-I system responds. The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission will determine how the \textquotedblleftweather\textquotedblright of the T-I responds, taking the next step in understanding the coupling between the space environment and the Earth\textquoterights atmosphere. Operating in geostationary orbit, the GOLD imaging spectrograph will measure the Earth\textquoterights emissions from 132 to 162 nm. These measurements will be used image two critical variables\textemdashthermospheric temperature and composition, near 160 km\textemdashon the dayside disk at half-hour time scales. At night they will be used to image the evolution of the low latitude ionosphere in the same regions that were observed earlier during the day. Due to the geostationary orbit being used the mission observes the same hemisphere repeatedly, allowing the unambiguous separation of spatial and temporal variability over the Americas.

Eastes, R.; McClintock, W.; Burns, A.; Anderson, D.; Andersson, L.; Codrescu, M.; Correira, J.; Daniell, R.; England, S.; Evans, J.; Harvey, J.; Krywonos, A.; Lumpe, J.; Richmond, A.; Rusch, D.; Siegmund, O.; Solomon, S.; Strickland, D.; Woods, T.; Aksnes, A.; Budzien, S.; Dymond, K.; Eparvier, F.; Martinis, C.; Oberheide, J.;

Published by: Space Science Reviews      Published on: 10/2017

YEAR: 2017     DOI: 10.1007/s11214-017-0392-2

Solar cycle variations of thermospheric O/N 2 longitudinal pattern from TIMED/GUVI

Thermospheric composition (O/N2 ratio) is well known to have a great impact on the variation of daytime ionospheric electron density. This study aims to investigate the local time, seasonal, and solar cycle variations of the O/N2 longitudinal pattern in both hemispheres during daytime in solstices. The O/N2 data used are from TIMED/Global Ultraviolet Imager observations made over a solar cycle for geomagnetically quiet conditions. The main findings are as follows: (1) The O/N2 longitudinal patterns are generally similar during 10:00\textendash14:00 LT and between solar minimum and maximum, although the O/N2 values change with local time and solar cycle. (2) The winter O/N2 subauroral enhancement is unexpectedly smaller in the longitudes where the magnetic pole is (near-pole longitudes), rather than in the longitudes far from the magnetic pole, especially during solar maximum, and consequently, the longitudinal pattern of O/N2 depends on latitude in local winter. (3) The winter O/N2 subauroral enhancement generally moves to more poleward latitudes during solar maximum, as compared to solar minimum. (4) At higher midlatitudes (~45\textdegree\textendash60\textdegreeN and ~40\textdegree\textendash50\textdegreeS in geographic latitudes) in solar minimum, the winter-to-summer ratio of O/N2 in each hemisphere has an obvious minimum in near-pole longitudes. This minimum becomes more evident during solar maximum. The National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model simulations indicate that in the winter hemisphere, the unexpected O/N2 longitudinal pattern in higher midlatitudes is mainly associated with high-latitude Joule heating under the impact from ion convection and auroral precipitation.

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Dou, Xiankang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 03/2018

YEAR: 2017     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v122.210.1002/2016JA023696

Solar cycle variations of thermospheric O/N2 longitudinal pattern from TIMED/GUVI

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Dou, Xiankang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2017     DOI:

The causes of thermospheric composition variations during and after major geomagnetic storms

Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Zhang, Yongliang; Liu, Jing;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2017     DOI:

How the circulation can affect neutral composition at solar minimum: possible implications for the F2 region and topside ionosphere

Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Zhang, Yongliang; Qian, Liying;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2017     DOI:

2016

Long-lasting negative ionospheric storm effects in low and middle latitudes during the recovery phase of the 17 March 2013 geomagnetic storm

In this paper, an ionospheric electron density reanalysis algorithm was used to generate global optimized electron density during the 17\textendash18 March 2013 geomagnetic storm by assimilating ~10 low Earth orbit satellites based and ~450 ground global navigation satellite system receiver-based total electron content into a background ionospheric model. The reanalyzed electron density could identify the large-scale ionospheric features quite well during storm time, including the storm-enhanced density, the positive ionospheric storm effect during the initial and main phases, and the negative ionospheric storm effect during the recovery phase. The simulations from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model can reproduce similar large-scale ionospheric disturbances as seen in the reanalysis results. Both the reanalysis and simulations show long-lasting (\>17 h) daytime negative storm effect over the Asia sector as well as hemispheric asymmetry during the recovery phase. Detailed analysis of the Global Ultraviolet Imager-derived O/N2 ratio and model simulations indicate that the polar ward meridional wind disturbance, the downward E \texttimes B drift disturbance and O/N2 depletion might be responsible for the negative storm effect. The hemispheric asymmetry is mainly caused by the geomagnetic field line configuration, which could cause hemispheric asymmetry in the O/N2 depletion.

Yue, Xinan; Wang, Wenbin; Lei, Jiuhou; Burns, Alan; Zhang, Yongliang; Wan, Weixing; Liu, Libo; Hu, Lianhuan; Zhao, Biqiang; Schreiner, William;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 11/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v121.910.1002/2016JA022984

Longitudinal variations of thermospheric composition at the solstices

O/N2, measured by the Global Ultraviolet Imager on board the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics Dynamics satellite, has large longitudinal variations at the solstices, which are simulated well in upper atmosphere general circulation models. These longitudinal variations are caused by the displacement of the Earth\textquoterights magnetic poles from the geographic ones. The location of a magnetic pole affects the latitude at which the winds, driven by heating in summer, converge in the subauroral region of the winter hemisphere. In the magnetic pole\textquoterights longitude sector, this convergence occurs at relatively low latitudes, which results in the maximum values of O/N2 also occurring at relatively low latitudes. These latitudes have a relatively small solar zenith angle, contributing to a strong winter anomaly. In the zonally opposite longitude sector, maximum values of O/N2 occur at relatively high latitudes because the summer-to-winter wind convergence also occurs at relatively high latitudes. These high latitudes have a relatively large solar zenith angle, so ionization is weak, contributing to a weak winter anomaly. Therefore, the displacement between the magnetic and geographic poles not only results in a strong longitudinal variation of O/N2 but also results in a strong longitudinal variation of the ionosphere winter anomaly.

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Solomon, Stanley; Zhang, Yongliang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 06/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022898

Long-duration depletion in the topside ionospheric total electron content during the recovery phase of the March 2015 strong storm

Topside ionospheric total electron content (TEC) observations from multiple low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have been used to investigate the local time, altitudinal, and longitudinal dependence of the topside ionospheric storm effect during both the main and recovery phases of the March 2015 geomagnetic storm. The results of this study show, for the first time, that there was a persistent topside TEC depletion that lasted for more than 3 days after the storm main phase at most longitudes, except in the Pacific Ocean region, where the topside TECs during the storm recovery phase were comparable to the quiet time ones. The observed depletion in the topside ionospheric TEC was relatively larger at higher altitudes in the evening sector and greater at local times closer to midnight. Moreover, the topside TEC patterns observed by MetOp-A (832 km) were different from those seen by other LEO satellites with lower orbital altitudes during the storm main phase and at the beginning of the recovery phase, especially in the evening sector. This suggests that the physical processes that control the storm time behavior of topside ionospheric response to storms are altitude-dependent.

Zhong, Jiahao; Wang, Wenbin; Yue, Xinan; Burns, Alan; Dou, Xiankang; Lei, Jiuhou;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 04/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022469

Solar cycle variations of thermospheric composition at the solstices

We examine the solar cycle variability of thermospheric composition (O/N2) at the solstices. Our observational and modeling studies show that the summer-to-winter latitudinal gradient of O/N2 is small at solar minimum but large at solar maximum; O/N2 is larger at solar maximum than at solar minimum on a global-mean basis; there is a seasonal asymmetry in the solar cycle variability of O/N2, with large solar cycle variations in the winter hemisphere and small solar cycle variations in the summer hemisphere. Model analysis reveals that vertical winds decrease the temperature-driven solar cycle variability in the vertical gradient of O/N2 in the summer hemisphere but increase it in the winter hemisphere; consequently, the vertical gradient of O/N2 does not change much in the summer hemisphere over a solar cycle, but it increases greatly from solar minimum to solar maximum in the winter hemisphere; this seasonal asymmetry in the solar cycle variability in the vertical gradient of O/N2 causes a seasonal asymmetry in the vertical advection of O/N2, with small solar cycle variability in the summer hemisphere and large variability in the winter hemisphere, which in turn drives the observed seasonal asymmetry in the solar cycle variability of O/N2. Since the equatorial ionization anomaly suppresses upwelling in the summer hemisphere and strengthens downwelling in the winter hemisphere through plasma-neutral collisional heating and ion drag, locations and relative magnitudes of the equatorial ionization anomaly crests and their solar cycle variabilities can significantly impact the summer-to-winter gradients of O/N2 and their solar cycle variability.

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Solomon, Stanley; Wang, Wenbin; Zhang, Yongliang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 04/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022390

Thermospheric hydrogen response to increases in greenhouse gases

We investigated thermospheric hydrogen response to increase in greenhouse gases and the dependence of this response to solar activity, using a global mean version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. We separately doubled carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) to study the influence of temperature and changes to source species for hydrogen. Our results indicate that both CO2 cooling and CH4 changes to the source species for hydrogen lead to predicted increases in the upper thermospheric hydrogen density. At 400 km, hydrogen increases ~30\% under solar maximum and ~25\% under solar minimum responding to doubling of CH4, indicating that hydrogen response to the source variation due to CH4 increase is relatively independent of solar activity. On the other hand, hydrogen response to doubling of CO2 highly depends on solar activity. At 400 km, doubling of CO2 results in an ~7\% hydrogen increase at solar maximum, whereas it is ~25\% at solar minimum. Consequently, at solar maximum, the predicted ~40\% increase in atomic hydrogen in the upper thermosphere is primarily due to the source variation as a result of doubling of CH4, whereas at solar minimum, both cooling due to doubling of CO2 and the source variation due to doubling of CH4 have commensurate effects, resulting in an approximate 50\% increase in the modeled upper thermospheric hydrogen.

Nossal, S.; Qian, L.; Solomon, S.; Burns, A.; Wang, W.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 03/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2015JA022008

Effects of the Equatorial Ionosphere Anomaly on the Inter-Hemispheric Circulation in the Thermosphere

We investigate the interhemispheric circulation at the solstices, in order to understand why O/N2\ is larger in the northern hemisphere winter than in the southern hemisphere winter. Our studies reveal that the equatorial ionosphere anomaly (EIA) significantly impacts the summer-to-winter wind through plasma-neutral collisional heating, which changes the summer-to-winter pressure gradient, and ion drag. Consequently, the wind is suppressed in the summer hemisphere as it encounters the EIA but accelerates after it passes the EIA in the winter hemisphere. The wind then converges due to an opposing pressure gradient driven by Joule heating in auroral regions and produces large O/N2\ at subauroral latitudes. This EIA effect is stronger near the December solstice than near the June solstice because the ionospheric annual asymmetry creates greater meridional wind convergence near the December solstice, which in turn produces larger O/N2\ in the northern hemisphere winter than in the southern hemisphere winter.

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Solomon, Stanley; Zhang, Yongliang; Hsu, V.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 02/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2015JA022169

Equatorial ionization anomaly; interhemispheric circulation; ionosphere winter anomaly; plasma-neutral collisional heating; thermosphere composition; vertical advection

Universal time variations of the auroral hemispheric power and their interhemispheric asymmetry from TIMED/GUVI observations

This paper quantitatively analyzes the auroral hemispheric power (HP) and its interhemispheric asymmetry as a function of universal time (UT) for geomagnetically quiet conditions (Kp 1\textendash3) from Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics/Global Ultraviolet Imager (TIMED/GUVI) imaging observations. The HP variation with UT can be approximately characterized as two cases: One is for similar HP variations in the equinoxes in the Northern Hemisphere and for the June solstices of both hemispheres, and the other is for similar HP patterns in the equinoxes in the Southern Hemisphere and for the December solstices of both hemispheres. In the equinoxes, the HP variations are interhemispherically asymmetric due to different occurrence time of the HP peak. In the solstices, the HP is generally interhemispherically symmetric in its diurnal variations, but there is interhemispheric asymmetry in the magnitudes of the maximum HP. For geomagnetically quiet conditions (Kp = 2), in the equinoxes relative interhemispheric differences are typically between 0 and 20\%, with respect to the averaged HP from the two hemispheres, while during the solstices, the maximum relative interhemispheric asymmetry can be as large as 30\% in December, but it is only ~15\% in June. These two cases are mainly associated with variations of auroral precipitation power in the night side sector (21:00\textendash03:00 magnetic local time/MLT), which are primarily controlled by solar illumination conditions in both hemispheres and are also attributed to the difference in the geographical area of the auroral oval in the two hemispheres. Furthermore, the general interhemispheric symmetry of the HP variations in solstices suggests that auroral acceleration is not only controlled locally by solar illumination conditions, which has been well known previously, but also might be affected by processes in the precipitation source region.

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Dou, Xiankang;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 01/2016

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022730

Is There a Compositional Signature That Could Explain Middle Latitude Ionospheric Signatures during Sudden Stratospheric Warmings?

Burns, Alan; Qian, Liying; Wang, Wenbin; Goncharenko, Larisa; Solomon, Stanley;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

Effects of the equatorial ionosphere anomaly on the interhemispheric circulation in the thermosphere

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Solomon, Stanley; Zhang, Yongliang; , Hsu;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

Profiles of ionospheric storm-enhanced density during the 17 March 2015 great storm

Liu, Jing; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Yue, Xinan; Zhang, Shunrong; Zhang, Yongliang; Huang, Chaosong;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

2015

Explaining solar cycle effects on composition as it relates to the winter anomaly

The solar cycle variation of\ F2\ region winter anomaly is related to solar cycle changes in the latitudinal winter-to-summer difference of O/N2. Here we use the National Center for Atmospheric Research\textendashGlobal Mean Model to develop a concept of why the latitudinal winter-to-summer difference of O/N2\ varies with solar cycle. The main driver for these seasonal changes in composition is vertical advection, which is expressed most simply in pressure coordinates. Meridional winds do not change over the solar cycle, so the vertical winds should also not change. The other component of vertical advection is the vertical gradient of composition. Is there any reason that this should change? At solar maximum vertical temperature gradients between 100 and 200 km altitude are strong, whereas they are weak at solar minimum. To maintain the same pressure, the weak vertical temperature gradients at solar minimum must be balanced by weak density gradients and the strong temperature gradients at solar maximum must be balanced by strong density gradients to obtain the same pressure profile. Changes in the vertical density gradients are species dependent: heavy species change more and light species change less than the average density change. Hence, vertical winds act on stronger O/N2\ gradients at solar maximum than they do at solar minimum, and a stronger winter-to-summer difference of O/N2\ occurs at solar maximum compared with solar minimum.

Burns, A.; Solomon, S.; Wang, W.; Qian, L.; Zhang, Y.; Paxton, L.; Yue, X.; Thayer, J.; Liu, H.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 07/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021220

composition; solar cycle; upper atmosphere

Characteristics and mechanisms of the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density

In this paper, globally-averaged, thermospheric total mass density, derived from the orbits of \~5000 objects at 250, 400, and 550 km that were tracked from 1967 to 2006, has been used to quantitatively study the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density and its mechanism(s). The results show that thermospheric mass density had a significant annual asymmetry, which changed from year to year. The annual asymmetry at the three altitudes varied synchronously and its absolute value increased with altitudes. The results suggest that there is an annual asymmetry in solar EUV radiation that is caused by the difference in the Sun-Earth distance between the two solstices and the random variation of solar activity within a year. This change in radiation results in an annual change in the thermospheric temperature and thus the scale height of the neutral gas, and is the main cause of the annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density. The annual asymmetry of mass density increases with altitude because of the accumulating effect of the changes in neutral temperature and scale height in the vertical direction.

Ma, RuiPing; Xu, JiYao; Wang, Wenbin; Chen, GuangMing; Yuan, Wei; Lei, Jiuhou; Burns, Alan; Jiang, Guoying;

Published by: Science China Earth Sciences      Published on: 04/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1007/s11430-014-5020-3

annual asymmetry of thermospheric mass density; solar EUV radiation; Sun-Earth distance

Ionospheric response to CIR-induced recurrent geomagnetic activity during the declining phase of solar cycle 23

This paper presents an epoch analysis of global ionosphere responses to recurrent geomagnetic activity during 79 corotating interaction region (CIR) events from 2004 to 2009. The data used were GPS total electron content (TEC) data from the Madrigal Database at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Haystack Observatory and the electron density (Ne) data obtained from CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) observations. The results show that global ionosphere responses to CIR events have some common features. In high and middle latitudes, the total electron content (TEC) showed a significant positive response (increased electron densities) in the first epoch day. A negative TEC response occurred at high latitudes of the American sector following the positive response. The CHAMP Ne showed a daytime positive response in all latitudes and a nighttime negative response in the subauroral region. These negative TEC and Ne responses were found to be related to thermospheric composition (O/N2) changes during the storms. At all latitudes, the maximum of the TEC positive effect always occurred at 2\textendash6 h after the CIR starting during local daytime and 10\textendash18 h later for the CIR onset during local nighttime. Case studies indicate that the TEC and Ne positive response had a strong dependence on the southward component (Bz) of the interplanetary magnetic field and solar wind speed. This suggests that penetration electric fields that were associated with changes in solar winds might play a significant role in the positive ionospheric response to storms. During the recovery time of the CIR-produced geomagnetic activity, the TEC positive disturbance at low latitudes sometimes could last for 2\textendash4 days, whereas at middle to high latitudes the disturbance lasted only for 1 day in most cases. A comparison of the ionospheric responses between the American, European and Asian sectors shows that the ionosphere response in the North American sector was stronger than that in the other two regions. The response of foF2 to the CIR events in middle to high latitudes showed a negative response for 2\textendash3 days after the first epoch day. This is different from the response of TEC, which was mostly positive during the same period of time.

Chen, Yanhong; Wang, Wenbin; Burns, Alan; Liu, Siqing; Gong, Jiancun; Yue, Xinan; Jiang, Guoying; Coster, Anthea;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 02/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020657

CIR events; epoch study; Ionospheric response; recurrent geomagnetic activity

Longitudinal variations of the nighttime E layer electron density in the auroral zone

Longitudinal variations of the nighttime E layer electron density (21:00\textendash03:00 magnetic local time) in the auroral zone are investigated, and their sources are discussed in terms of auroral precipitation and solar radiation. The electron density data used in this study are retrieved from Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate radio occultation observations during 2006\textendash2009 under quiet geomagnetic activity (Kp <= 3) and solar minimum conditions. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) the nighttime E layer electron density had pronounced longitudinal variations in the auroral zone. These variations depended on season and had large hemispheric asymmetry for all seasons. In winter, relatively larger electron density was located in 120\textendash310\textdegree magnetic longitude (MLON) in the northern hemisphere and in 170\textendash360\textdegree MLON in the southern hemisphere, and greater maximum density occurred in the northern hemisphere than in the southern one. In summer and equinox, the longitudinal asymmetry was greater in the southern hemisphere. (2) The peaks of the E layer electron density along latitude generally occurred between 65\textdegree and 70\textdegree magnetic latitude in the auroral zone in all seasons for both hemispheres except for the sunlit sector of the southern summer. (3) The greater electron density in local winter in the auroral zone was generally associated with the more intense auroral precipitation intensity at roughly the same longitude, whereas the longitudinal patterns of the electron density were under the combined impact of both auroral precipitation and solar radiation in the local summer and equinoxes.

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Dou, Xiankang; Burns, Alan; Yue, Xinan;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 01/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020610

auroral E layer; hemispheric asymmetry; longitudinal variations; Seasonal variations

Latitudinal and Solar Cycle Variability of Thermosphere Composition at the Solstices

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Solomon, Stanley; Zhang, Yongliang;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2015     DOI:

Longitudinal variations of the nighttime E layer electron density in the auroral zone

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Dou, Xiankang; Burns, Alan; Yue, Xinan;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on:

YEAR: 2015     DOI:

2014

Simulations of the equatorial thermosphere anomaly: Geomagnetic activity modulation

The modulation of geomagnetic activity on the equatorial thermosphere anomaly (ETA) in thermospheric temperature under the high solar activity condition is investigated using the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model simulations. The model simulations during the geomagnetically disturbed interval, when the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field (Bz) oscillates between southward and northward directions, are analyzed and also compared with those under the quiet time condition. Our results show that ionospheric electron densities increase greatly in the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) crest region and decrease around the magnetic equator during the storm time, resulting from the enhanced eastward electric fields. The impact of both the direct heat deposition at high latitudes and the modulation of the storm time enhanced EIA crests on the ETA are subsequently studied. The increased plasma densities over the EIA crest region enhance the field-aligned ion drag that accelerates the poleward meridional winds and consequently their associated adiabatic cooling effect. This process alone produces a deeper temperature trough over the magnetic equator as a result of the enhanced divergence of meridional winds. Moreover, the enhanced plasma-neutral collisional heating at higher latitudes associated with the ionospheric positive storm effect causes a weak increase of the ETA crests. On the other hand, strong changes of the neutral temperature are mainly confined to higher latitudes. Nevertheless, the changes of the ETA purely due to the increased plasma density are overwhelmed by those associated with the storm time heat deposition, which is the major cause of an overall elevated temperature in both the ETA crests and trough during the geomagnetically active period. Associated with the enhanced neutral temperature at high latitudes due to the heat deposition, the ETA crest-trough differences become larger under the minor geomagnetic activity condition than under the quiet time condition. However, when geomagnetic activity is further elevated, the ETA crests tend to be masked by high temperatures at middle and high latitudes.

Lei, Jiuhou; Wang, Wenbin; Thayer, Jeffrey; Luan, Xiaoli; Dou, Xiankang; Burns, Alan; Solomon, Stanley;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 08/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020152

equatorial thermosphere anomaly; geomagnetic activity; ion-neutral coupling; positive ionospheric storm

Responses of the lower thermospheric temperature to the 9 day and 13.5 day oscillations of recurrent geomagnetic activity

Responses of the lower thermospheric temperature to the 9 day and 13.5 day oscillations of recurrent geomagnetic activity and solar EUV radiation have been investigated using neutral temperature data observed by the TIMED/SABER (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics/Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) instrument and numerical experiments by the NCAR-TIME-GCM (National Center for Atmospheric Research\textendashthermosphere-ionosphere-mesosphere electrodynamics\textendashgeneral circulation model). The TIMED/SABER data analyzed were for the period from 2002 to 2007 during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. The observations show that the zonal mean temperature in the lower thermosphere oscillated with periods of near 9 and 13.5 days in the height range of 100\textendash120 km. These oscillations were more strongly correlated with the recurrent geomagnetic activity than with the solar EUV variability of the same periods. The 9 day and 13.5 day oscillations of lower thermospheric temperature had greater amplitudes at high latitudes than at low latitudes; they also had larger amplitudes at higher altitudes, and the oscillations could penetrate down to ~105 km, depending on the strength of the recurrent geomagnetic activity for a particular time period. The data further show that the periodic responses of the lower thermospheric temperature to recurrent geomagnetic activity were different in the two hemispheres. In addition, numerical experiments have been carried out using the NCAR-TIME-GCM to investigate the causal relationship between the temperature oscillations and the geomagnetic activity and solar EUV variations of the same periods. Model simulations showed the same periodic oscillations as those seen in the observations when the real geomagnetic activity index, Kp, was used to drive the model. These numerical results show that recurrent geomagnetic activity is the main cause of the 9 day and 13.5 day variations in the lower thermosphere temperature, and the contribution from solar EUV variations is minor. Furthermore, we also found that consecutive coronal mass ejection events could cause long-duration enhancements in the lower thermospheric temperature that strengthen the 9 day and 13.5 day signals, and this kind of phenomenon mostly occurred between 2002 and 2005 during the declining phase of solar cycle 23.

Jiang, Guoying; Wang, Wenbin; Xu, JiYao; Yue, Jia; Burns, Alan; Lei, Jiuhou; Mlynczak, Martin; Rusell, James;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 06/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v119.610.1002/2013JA019406

13.5 day variation; 9 day variation; Joule heating; lower thermospheric temperature; recurrent geomagnetic activity; solar EUV radiation

On the solar cycle variation of the winter anomaly

Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate, Ionosonde, and Global Ultraviolet Imager data have been used to investigate the solar cycle changes in the winter anomaly (the winter anomaly is defined as the enhancement of the F2 peak electron density in the winter hemisphere over that in the summer hemisphere) in the last solar cycle. There is no winter anomaly in solar minimum, and an enhancement of about 50\% in winter over summer ones on the same day of the year at solar maximum. This solar cycle variation in the winter anomaly is primarily due to greater winter to summer differences of [O]/[N2] in solar maximum than in solar minimum, with a secondary contribution from the effects of temperature on the recombination coefficient between O+ and the molecular neutral gas. The greater winter increases in electron density in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere appear to be related to the greater annual variation of [O]/[N2] in the north than in the south.

Burns, A.; Wang, W.; Qian, L.; Solomon, S.; Zhang, Y.; Paxton, L.; Yue, X.;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 06/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v119.610.1002/2013JA019552

Anomaly; Cycle; Ionosphere

Heat and Groundwater Flow through Continental Flood Basalt Provinces: Insights Gained from Alternative Models of Permeability/Depth Relationships for the Columbia Plateau, USA

Burns, Erick; Williams, Colin; Ingebritsen, Steve; Voss, Clifford; Spane, Frank; DeAngelo, Jake;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2014     DOI:

Composition and the Winter Anomaly

Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Qian, Liying; Solomon, Stanley; Zhang, Yongliang; Paxton, Larry; Thayer, Jeffrey;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2014     DOI:

Longitudinal and Hemispheric Variations of Nighttime E-Layer Electron Density in the Auroral Zone

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Dou, Xiankang; Burns, Alan; Yue, Xinan;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2014     DOI:

Energetics and Composition in the Thermosphere

Burns, AG; Wang, W; Solomon, SC; Qian, L;

Published by: Modeling the Ionosphere-Thermosphere System      Published on:

YEAR: 2014     DOI:

The NCAR TIE-GCM: A community model of the coupled thermosphere/ionosphere system

Qian, Liying; Burns, Alan; Emery, Barbara; Foster, Benjamin; Lu, Gang; Maute, Astrid; Richmond, Arthur; Roble, Raymond; Solomon, Stanley; Wang, Wenbin;

Published by: Modeling the Ionosphere-Thermosphere System      Published on:

YEAR: 2014     DOI:



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