Bibliography

On the latitudinal changes in ionospheric electrodynamics and composition based on observations over the 76--77 E meridian from both hemispheres during a geomagnetic storm

The relative contributions of the composition disturbances and the disturbance electric fields in the redistribution of ionospheric plasma is investigated in detail by taking the case of a long-duration positive ionospheric storm that occurred during 18\textendash21 February 2014. GPS total electron content (TEC) data from the Indian Antarctic station, Bharti (69.4\textdegreeS, 76.2\textdegreeE geographic), the northern midlatitude station Hanle (32.8\textdegreeN, 78.9\textdegreeE geographic), northern low-latitude station lying in the vicinity of the anomaly crest, Ahmedabad (23.04\textdegreeN, 72.54\textdegreeE geographic, dip latitude 17\textdegreeN), and the geomagnetic equatorial station, Trivandrum (8.5\textdegreeN, 77\textdegreeE geographic, dip latitude 0.01\textdegreeS) are used in the study. These are the first simultaneous observations of TEC from Bharti and Hanle during a geomagnetic storm. The impact of the intense geomagnetic storm (Dst\~-130\ nT) on the southern hemisphere high-latitude station was a drastic reduction in the TEC (negative ionospheric storm) starting from around 0330 Indian standard time (IST) on 19 February which continued till 21 February, the maximum reduction in TEC at Bharti being \~35 TEC units on 19 February. In the northern hemisphere midlatitude and equatorial stations, a positive ionospheric storm started on 19 February at around 0900 IST and lasted for 3\ days. The maximum enhancement in TEC at Hanle was about \~25 TECU on 19 February while over Trivandrum it was \~10 TECU. This long-duration positive ionospheric storm provided an opportunity to assess the relative contributions of disturbance electric fields and composition changes latitudinally. The results indicate that the negative ionospheric storm over Bharti and the positive ionospheric storm over Hanle are the effect of the changes in the global wind system and the storm-induced composition changes. At the equatorial latitudes, the positive ionospheric storm was due to the interplay of prompt penetration electric field and disturbance dynamo electric field.

Shreedevi, P.; Thampi, Smitha; Chakrabarty, D.; Choudhary, R.; Pant, Tarun; Bhardwaj, Anil; Mukherjee, S.;

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

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021841

Geomagnetic storms; High latitude low latitude coupling; Ionosphere; positive ionospheric storm

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 (B_z) 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