Bibliography

Development and Validation of Precipitation Enhanced Densities for the Empirical Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Model

The Empirical Canadian High Artic Ionospheric Model (E-CHAIM) provides the four-dimensional ionosphere electron density at northern high latitudes (\textgreater50° geomagnetic latitude). Despite its emergence as the most reliable model for high-latitude ionosphere density, there remain significant deficiencies in E-CHAIM s representation of the lower ionosphere (below ∼200 km) due to a sparsity of reliable measurements at these altitudes, particularly during energetic particle precipitation events. To address this deficiency, we have developed a precipitation component for E-CHAIM to be driven by satellite-based far-ultraviolet (FUV) imager data. Satellite observations of FUV emissions may be used to infer the characteristics of energetic particle precipitation and subsequently calculate the precipitation-enhanced ionization rates and ionosphere densities. In order to demonstrate the improvement of E-CHAIM s ionosphere density representation with the addition of a precipitation component, this paper presents comparisons of E-CHAIM precipitation-enhanced densities with ionosphere density measurements of three auroral region incoherent scatter radars (ISRs) and one polar cap ISR. Calculations for 29,038 satellite imager and ISR conjunctions during the years 2005–2019 revealed that the root-mean-square difference between E-CHAIM and ISR measurements decreased by up to 2.9 × 1010 ele/m3 (altitude dependent) after inclusion of the precipitation component at auroral sites, and by 2.6 × 109 ele/m3 in the polar cap. Improvements were most substantial in the winter season and during active auroral conditions. The sensitivity of precipitation-enhanced densities to uncertainties inherent to the calculation method was also examined, with the bulk of the errors due to uncertainties in FUV imager data and choice of distribution function for precipitation energy spectra.

Watson, C.; Themens, D.; Jayachandran, P.;

Published by: Space Weather      Published on:

YEAR: 2021     DOI: 10.1029/2021SW002779

auroral region; Ionosphere; ionosphere density; magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling; particle precipitation; polar cap

Importance of capturing heliospheric variability for studies of thermospheric vertical winds

Using the Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model with observed real-time heliospheric input data, the magnitude and variability of thermospheric neutral vertical winds are investigated. In order to determine the role of variability in the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and solar wind density on the neutral wind variability, the heliospheric input data are smoothed. The effects of smoothing the IMF and solar wind and density on the vertical winds are simulated for the cases of no smoothing, 5-minute, and 12-minute smoothing. Various vertical wind acceleration terms, such as the nonhydrostatic acceleration, are quantified. Polar stereographic projections of the variabilities of vertical wind and ion flows are compared to highlight existing correlations. Overall, the smoother, that is, the less variable the IMF and solar wind parameters are, the weaker are the magnitude and the variability of the thermospheric vertical winds. Weaker IMF variability leads to smaller variability in ion flows, which in turn negatively impacts the variability and the magnitude of Joule heating. Small-scale temporal variation of the vertical wind acceleration, and thus the variability of the vertical wind, is dominated by the nonhydrostatic term that is controlled primarily by the temporal variation of the Joule heating, which in turn is related to ion flow variations that are shaped by the IMF in the high-latitude thermosphere. Wavelet analysis of the vertical wind data shows that gravity waves of \~5 and \~10-minute periods are more prominent when the model is run with high-resolution real-time IMF and solar wind data. Better capturing of the temporal variation of the IMF and solar wind parameters is crucial for modeling the variability and magnitude of thermospheric vertical winds.

Erdal, Yi\u; Ridley, Aaron; Moldwin, Mark;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research      Published on: 07/2012

YEAR: 2012     DOI: 10.1029/2012JA017596

gravity waves; interplanetary magnetic field; Joule heating; magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling; nonhydrostatic general circulation model; vertical wind variability