Bibliography





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Found 193 entries in the Bibliography.


Showing entries from 101 through 150


2016

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

SPIE ProceedingsThe reconnaissance and early-warning optical system design for dual field of space-based "solar blind ultraviolet"

With the development of modern technology, especially the development of information technology at high speed, the ultraviolet early warning system plays an increasingly important role. In the modern warfare, how to detect the threats earlier, prevent and reduce the attack of precision-guided missile has become a new challenge. Because the ultraviolet warning technology has high environmental adaptability, the low false alarm rate, small volume and other advantages, in the military field applications it has been developed rapidly. According to current application demands for solar blind ultraviolet detection and warning, this paper proposes a reconnaissance and early-warning optical system, which covers solar blind ultraviolet (250nm-280nm) and dual field. This structure takes advantage of a narrow field of view and long focal length optical system to achieve the target object detection, uses wide-field and short focal length optical system to achieve early warning of the target object. It makes use of an ultraviolet beam-splitter to achieve the separation of two optical systems. According to the detector and the corresponding application needs of two visual field of the optical system, the calculation and optical system design were completed. After the design, the MTF of the two optical system is more than 0.8@39lp/mm. A single pixel energy concentration is greater than 80\%.

Wang, Wen-cong; Jin, Dong-dong; Shao, Fei; Hu, Hui-jun; Shi, Yu-feng; Song, Juan; Zhang, Yu-tu; Yong, Liu;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1117/12.2236440

Studying Peculiarities of Ionospheric Response to the 2015 March 17-19 Geomagnetic Storm in East Asia: Observations and Simulation

Romanova, Elena; Zherebtsov, Gelii; Polekh, Nelya; Wang, Xiao; Wang, Guojun; Zolotukhina, Nina; Shi, Jiankui;

Published by: 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly      Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

Studying Peculiarities of Ionospheric Response to the 2015 March 17-19 Geomagnetic Storm in East Asia: Observations and Simulation

Romanova, Elena; Zherebtsov, Gelii; Polekh, Nelya; Wang, Xiao; Wang, Guojun; Zolotukhina, Nina; Shi, Jiankui;

Published by: 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly      Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

Conjugate hemisphere ionospheric response to the St. Patrick s Day storms of 2013 and 2015 in the 100° E longitude sector

The GUVI data used here are provided through support from the NASA MO&DA program. The GUVI instrument was designed and built by The Aerospace Corporation and The John

Kalita, Bitap; Hazarika, Rumajyoti; Kakoti, Geetashree; Bhuyan, PK; Chakrabarty, D; Seemala, Gopi; Wang, K; Sharma, S; Yokoyama, T; Supnithi, P; , others;

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

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023119

The reconnaissance and early-warning optical system design for dual field of space-based" solar blind ultraviolet"

With the development of modern technology, especially the development of information technology at high speed, the ultraviolet early warning system plays an increasingly important

Wang, Wen-cong; Jin, Dong-dong; Shao, Fei; Hu, Hui-jun; Shi, Yu-feng; Song, Juan; Zhang, Yu-tu; Yong, Liu;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI: 10.1117/12.2236440

Conjugate hemisphere ionospheric response to the St. Patrick s Day storms of 2013 and 2015 in the 100° E longitude sector

Kalita, Bitap; Hazarika, Rumajyoti; Kakoti, Geetashree; Bhuyan, PK; Chakrabarty, D; Seemala, Gopi; Wang, K; Sharma, S; Yokoyama, T; Supnithi, P; , others;

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

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

Equatorial ionospheric plasma drifts and O+ concentration enhancements associated with disturbance dynamo during the 2015 St. Patrick's Day magnetic storm

Huang, Chao-Song; Wilson, Gordon; Hairston, Marc; Zhang, Yongliang; Wang, Wenbin; Liu, Jing;

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

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

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:

Airglow simulation based on the atmospheric ultraviolet radiance integrated code of 2012

Wang, HouMao; Wang, YongMei;

Published by: Science China Earth Sciences      Published on:

YEAR: 2016     DOI:

Airglow simulation based on the atmospheric ultraviolet radiance integrated code of 2012

Wang, HouMao; Wang, YongMei;

Published by: Science China Earth Sciences      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

Airglow simulation based on the Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Integrated Code of 2012

The Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Integrated Code (AURIC) is a software package developed by Computational Physics, Inc. (CPI) under the sponsorship of the Air Force Phillips Laboratory/Geophysics Directorate (PL/GP) (currently the Air Force Research Laboratory) for middle and upper atmospheric radiance modeling from the far ultraviolet to the near infrared. The AURIC has been considered as a general model for the radiative transfer simulation of airglow. Based on the theory of MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN), the AURIC extends calculation to altitudes above 100 km and the wavelength down to 80 nm. A package of AURIC v1.2 was released in 2002, which can be used for single-point simulation from 1947 to 1999. It means that the model is not suitable for atmospheric simulation of large datasets or for atmospheric parameters retrieval from amount of satellite measurements. In this paper, AURIC v1.2 is upgraded to AURIC-2012 based on MATLAB with improvements for modules of the Geomagnetic Parameter (GEOPARM), Atmosphere neutral composition (ATOMS), and Ionospheric electron density (IONOS). The improved AURIC can be used for global automatic airglow simulation and also for automatic retrieval of atmospheric compositions from satellite global observations, such as O/N2\ and electron density etc. Besides, the model supplies possibilities for further improvement of airglow radiative mechanism and for substitution of other modules. Based on the AURIC-2012, Limb Column Emission Intensity (L-CEI) and Volume Emission Rate (VER) are calculated. For validation, the results were compared with measurements of the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) and TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI), respectively. The averaged relative errors of L-CEI and VER at peak altitude are both within 20\%. Finally, L-CEI varying with latitude, altitude, solar activity, and geomagnetic activity is simulated, and the distribution characteristics of the simulation and their influencing factors are analyzed subsequently.

Wang, HouMao; Wang, YongMei;

Published by: Science China Earth Sciences      Published on: Oct-09-2016

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1007/s11430-015-5166-7

airglow simulation; AURIC-2012; Limb Column Emission Intensity (L-CEI); Volume Emission Rate

Airglow simulation based on the Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Integrated Code of 2012

The Atmospheric Ultraviolet Radiance Integrated Code (AURIC) is a software package developed by Computational Physics, Inc. (CPI) under the sponsorship of the Air Force Phillips Laboratory/Geophysics Directorate (PL/GP) (currently the Air Force Research Laboratory) for middle and upper atmospheric radiance modeling from the far ultraviolet to the near infrared. The AURIC has been considered as a general model for the radiative transfer simulation of airglow. Based on the theory of MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN), the AURIC extends calculation to altitudes above 100 km and the wavelength down to 80 nm. A package of AURIC v1.2 was released in 2002, which can be used for single-point simulation from 1947 to 1999. It means that the model is not suitable for atmospheric simulation of large datasets or for atmospheric parameters retrieval from amount of satellite measurements. In this paper, AURIC v1.2 is upgraded to AURIC-2012 based on MATLAB with improvements for modules of the Geomagnetic Parameter (GEOPARM), Atmosphere neutral composition (ATOMS), and Ionospheric electron density (IONOS). The improved AURIC can be used for global automatic airglow simulation and also for automatic retrieval of atmospheric compositions from satellite global observations, such as O/N2\ and electron density etc. Besides, the model supplies possibilities for further improvement of airglow radiative mechanism and for substitution of other modules. Based on the AURIC-2012, Limb Column Emission Intensity (L-CEI) and Volume Emission Rate (VER) are calculated. For validation, the results were compared with measurements of the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) and TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI), respectively. The averaged relative errors of L-CEI and VER at peak altitude are both within 20\%. Finally, L-CEI varying with latitude, altitude, solar activity, and geomagnetic activity is simulated, and the distribution characteristics of the simulation and their influencing factors are analyzed subsequently.

Wang, HouMao; Wang, YongMei;

Published by: Science China Earth Sciences      Published on: Oct-09-2016

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1007/s11430-015-5166-7

airglow simulation; AURIC-2012; Limb Column Emission Intensity (L-CEI); Volume Emission Rate

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

A case study of ionospheric storm effects in the Chinese sector during the October 2013 geomagnetic storm

In this study, we investigate the ionospheric storm effects in the Chinese sector during 2 October 2013 geomagnetic storm. The TEC map over China sector (1\textdegree\ \texttimes\ 1\textdegree) and eight ionosondes data along the longitude of 110\textdegreeE are used to show significant positive ionospheric phases (enhancements in TEC and ionospheric peak electron density NmF2) in the high-middle latitude region and the negative effects at the low latitude and equatorial region during the storm. A wave structure with periods about 1\textendash2\ h and horizontal speed about 680\ m/s, propagating from the high latitudes to the low latitudes is observed in electron densities within the height region from 200 to 400\ km, which is caused by the combined effects of neutral wind and the large-scale traveling disturbances (LSTIDs). In the low latitude regions, compared with those in the quiet day, the ionospheric peak heights of the F2 layer (hmF2) in the storm day obviously increase accompanying a notably decrease in TEC and NmF2, which might be as a result of the eastward prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) evidenced by the two magnetometers and the subsequent westward disturbance dynamo electric fields (DDEF). The storm-time TEC enhancement mainly occurs in the topside ionosphere, as revealed from the topside TEC, bottomside TEC and GPS TEC.

Mao, Tian; Sun, Lingfeng; Hu, Lianhuan; Wang, Yungang; Wang, Zhijun;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on: 06/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2015.05.045

Ionospheric storm; Neutral wind; LSTIDs; PPEF; DDEF

A case study of ionospheric storm effects in the Chinese sector during the October 2013 geomagnetic storm

In this study, we investigate the ionospheric storm effects in the Chinese sector during 2 October 2013 geomagnetic storm. The TEC map over China sector (1\textdegree\ \texttimes\ 1\textdegree) and eight ionosondes data along the longitude of 110\textdegreeE are used to show significant positive ionospheric phases (enhancements in TEC and ionospheric peak electron density NmF2) in the high-middle latitude region and the negative effects at the low latitude and equatorial region during the storm. A wave structure with periods about 1\textendash2\ h and horizontal speed about 680\ m/s, propagating from the high latitudes to the low latitudes is observed in electron densities within the height region from 200 to 400\ km, which is caused by the combined effects of neutral wind and the large-scale traveling disturbances (LSTIDs). In the low latitude regions, compared with those in the quiet day, the ionospheric peak heights of the F2 layer (hmF2) in the storm day obviously increase accompanying a notably decrease in TEC and NmF2, which might be as a result of the eastward prompt penetration electric field (PPEF) evidenced by the two magnetometers and the subsequent westward disturbance dynamo electric fields (DDEF). The storm-time TEC enhancement mainly occurs in the topside ionosphere, as revealed from the topside TEC, bottomside TEC and GPS TEC.

Mao, Tian; Sun, Lingfeng; Hu, Lianhuan; Wang, Yungang; Wang, Zhijun;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on: 06/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2015.05.045

Ionospheric storm; Neutral wind; LSTIDs; PPEF; DDEF

Multiday thermospheric density oscillations associated with variations in solar radiation and geomagnetic activity

Thermospheric densities observed by Challenging Minisatellite Payload and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites during 2002\textendash2010 and the globally averaged thermospheric densities from 1967 to 2007 have been used to investigate latitudinal, longitudinal, and height dependences of the multiday oscillations of thermospheric densities. The data show that the main multiday oscillations in thermospheric densities are 27, 13.5, 9, and 7 day oscillations. The high-correlation coefficients between the density oscillations and theF10.7\ or\ Ap\ index indicate that these oscillations are externally driven. The 27 day density oscillation, being the strongest, is induced by variations in solar radiation, as well as recurrent geomagnetic activity that is the result of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) and high-speed solar wind streams of coronal hole origin. Density oscillations at periods of 13.5, 9, and 7 days at solar minimum and during the declining phase are stronger than those at solar maximum. These oscillations are mainly associated with recurrent geomagnetic activity due to coronal hole high-speed streams and CIRs. The multiday, periodic oscillations of thermospheric density exhibit strong latitudinal and longitudinal variations in the geomagnetic coordinate and oscillate synchronously at different heights. Oscillations with zonal wave number 0 oscillate globally, whereas those with nonzero wave numbers are strong at high geomagnetic latitudes, and hemispherically asymmetric. They are stronger in the Southern Hemisphere. The spectral distributions of thermospheric densities at different heights have almost the same latitude and longitude structures, but the spectral magnitudes increase with height.

Xu, JiYao; Wang, Wenbin; Zhang, Shunrong; Liu, Xiao; Yuan, Wei;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 05/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020830

oscillation; thermospheric density

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

Far ultraviolet nighttime ionospheric photometer

Far Ultraviolet Nighttime Ionopsheric Photometer (FNIP) is a newly-designed instrument for low earth orbit missions, observing the earth night airglow nadir at OI 135.6\ nm emission produced by ionospheric O++e recombination and receiving the horizontal information on nighttime ionosphere with a spatial resolution of about 1.6o\texttimes3.8o. This simple, highly robust instrument excludes OI 130.4 nm emission and Herzberg oxygen bands with lower power and approximately achieves a sensitivity of about 400\ counts/s/Rayleigh at 135.6\ nm with stray light less than\ 2\ \%. Some tests of the instrument have been conducted and the results will be discussed in the end.

Fu, Liping; Peng, Ruyi; Shi, Entao; Peng, Jilong; Wang, Tianfang; Jiang, Fang; Jia, Nan; Li, Xiaoyin; Wang, YongMei;

Published by: Astrophysics and Space Science      Published on: 01/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1007/s10509-014-2139-9

F2 electron density distribution; FUV optical sensing remote; High sensitivity; Ionosphere; Payload

Far ultraviolet nighttime ionospheric photometer

Far Ultraviolet Nighttime Ionopsheric Photometer (FNIP) is a newly-designed instrument for low earth orbit missions, observing the earth night airglow nadir at OI 135.6\ nm emission produced by ionospheric O++e recombination and receiving the horizontal information on nighttime ionosphere with a spatial resolution of about 1.6o\texttimes3.8o. This simple, highly robust instrument excludes OI 130.4 nm emission and Herzberg oxygen bands with lower power and approximately achieves a sensitivity of about 400\ counts/s/Rayleigh at 135.6\ nm with stray light less than\ 2\ \%. Some tests of the instrument have been conducted and the results will be discussed in the end.

Fu, Liping; Peng, Ruyi; Shi, Entao; Peng, Jilong; Wang, Tianfang; Jiang, Fang; Jia, Nan; Li, Xiaoyin; Wang, YongMei;

Published by: Astrophysics and Space Science      Published on: 01/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1007/s10509-014-2139-9

F2 electron density distribution; FUV optical sensing remote; High sensitivity; Ionosphere; Payload

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

Observations of thermosphere and ionosphere changes due to the dissipative 6.5-day wave in the lower thermosphere

In the current work, temperature and wind data from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite during the years 2002\textendash2007 were used to describe the seasonal variations of the westward propagating 6.5-day planetary wave in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). Thermospheric composition data from the TIMED satellite and ionospheric total electron content (TEC) from the International Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Service were then employed to carry out two case studies on the effect of this dissipating wave on the thermosphere/ionosphere. In both cases, there were westward anomalies of ~ 30\textendash40 m s-1\ in zonal wind in the MLT region that were caused by momentum deposition of the 6.5-day wave, which had peak activity during equinoxes. The westward zonal wind anomalies led to extra poleward meridional flows in both hemispheres. Meanwhile, there were evident overall reductions of thermospheric column density O / N2\ ratio and ionospheric TEC with magnitudes of up to 16\textendash24 \% during these two strong 6.5-day wave events. Based on the temporal correlation between O / N2\ and TEC reductions, as well as the extra poleward meridional circulations associated with the 6.5-day waves, we conclude that the dissipative 6.5-day wave in the lower thermosphere can cause changes in the thermosphere/ionosphere via the mixing effect, similar to the quasi-two-day wave (QTDW) as predicted by Yue and Wang (2014).

Gan, Q.; Yue, J.; Chang, L.; Wang, W.; Zhang, S.; Du, J.;

Published by: Annales Geophysicae      Published on: 01/2015

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.5194/angeo-33-913-2015

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:

Auroral Oval Boundary Modeling Based on Deep Learning Method

Research on the location of the auroral oval is important to understand the coupling processes of the Sun-Earth system. The equatorward boundary and poleward boundary of the auroral oval are significant parameters of the auroral oval location. Thus auroral oval boundary modeling is an efficient way to study the location of auroral oval. As the location of the auroral oval boundary is subject to a variety of geomagnetic factors, there are some limitations on traditional methods, which express the auroral oval boundary as a function of only one or several geomagnetic activity index. Deep learning method is used in this paper to learn the essential features of the inputs, which are a large number of geomagnetic parameters and the former locations of aurora boundary. Furthermore, a model is established to forecast the location of the auroral oval boundary. The experiment results show that our method can model and forecast the boundary of aurora oval efficiently on the data set obtained from Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) on Polar satellite and OMNI database on NASA.

Han, Bing; Gao, Xinbo; Liu, Hui; Wang, Ping;

Published by:       Published on:

YEAR: 2015     DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-23862-310.1007/978-3-319-23862-3_10

2014

A study of GPS ionospheric scintillations observed at Shenzhen

Ionospheric scintillation variations are studied using GPS measurements at the low latitude station of Shenzhen (22.59\textdegreeN,\ 113.97\textdegreeE), situated under the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly region, from the Chinese Meridian Project. The results are presented for data collected during the current phase of rising solar activity (low to high solar activity) from December 2010 to April 2014. The results show that GPS scintillation events were largely a nighttime phenomenon during the whole observation period. Scintillation events mainly occurred along the inner edge of the northern crest of the equatorial anomaly in China. The occurrence of scintillations in different sectors of the sky was also investigated, and the results revealed that it is more likely for the scintillations to be observed in the west sector of the sky above Shenzhen. During the present period of study, a total number of 512 total electron content (TEC) depletions and 460 lock loss events were observed. In addition, both of these events are likely to increase during periods of high solar activity, especially because the strong scintillations are often simultaneously accompanied by TEC depletions and lock losses by GPS receivers.

Huang, Linfeng; Wang, Jinsong; Jiang, Yong; Chen, Zhou; Zhao, Kai;

Published by: Advances in Space Research      Published on: 12/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2014.08.023

GPS; Ionospheric scintillation; Scintillation event

Meteor radar wind over Chung-Li (24.9 N, 121 E), Taiwan, for the period 10--25 November 2012 which includes Leonid meteor shower: Comparison with empirical model and satellite measurements

The neutral winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region are measured by a newly installed meteor trail detection system (or meteor radar) at Chung-Li, Taiwan, for the period 10\textendash25 November 2012, which includes the Leonid meteor shower period. In this study, we use the 3 m field-aligned plasma irregularities in the sporadic E (Es) region in combination with the International Geomagnetic Reference Field model to calibrate the system phase biases such that the true positions of the meteor trails can be correctly determined with interferometry technique. The horizontal wind velocities estimated from the radial velocities of the meteor trails and their locations by using a least squares method show that the diurnal tide dominates the variation of the MLT neutral wind with time over Chung-Li, which is in good agreement with the horizontal wind model (HWM07) prediction. However, harmonic analysis reveals that the amplitudes of the mean wind, diurnal, and semidiurnal tides of the radar-measured winds in height range 82\textendash100 km are systematically larger than those of the model-predicted winds by up to a factor of 3. A comparison shows that the overall pattern of the height-local time distribution of the composite radar-measured meteor wind is, in general, consistent with that of the TIMED Doppler Interferometer-observed wind, which is dominated by a diurnal oscillation with downward phase progression at a rate of about 1.3 km/h. The occurrences of the Es layers retrieved from fluctuations of the amplitude and excess phase of the GPS signal received by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellites during the GPS radio occultation (RO) process are compared with the shear zones of the radar-measured meteor wind and HWM07 wind. The result shows that almost all of the RO-retrieved Es layers occur within the wind shear zones that favor the Es layer formation based on the wind shear theory, suggesting that the primary physical process responsible for the Es layer events retrieved from the scintillations of the GPS RO signal is very likely the plasma convergence effect of the neutral wind shear.

Su, C.; Chen, H.; Chu, Y.; Chung, M.; Kuong, R.; Lin, T.; Tzeng, K.; Wang, C; Wu, K.; Yang, K.;

Published by: Radio Science      Published on: 08/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2013RS005273

HWM07; radar meteor wind; tide

The responses of ionospheric topside diffusive fluxes to two geomagnetic storms in October 2002

O+ field-aligned ambipolar diffusive velocities Vd and fluxes Фd in the topside ionosphere have been calculated from the observed profiles of electron density, ion, and electron temperatures during a 30 day incoherent scatter radar experiment conducted at Millstone Hill (288.5\textdegreeE, 42.6\textdegreeN) from 4 October to 4 November 2002. Two geomagnetic storms took place during this period. During the negative phases (depleted electron densities) of these two storms, the magnitudes of the daytime upward Vd and Фd were less than their averaged quiet time values. Whereas at nighttime, the downward Vd and Фd were sometimes larger than the averaged quiet time values. The variations in diffusive velocity and flux during the storm main and recovery phases were caused by changes in the ionospheric scale height or the shapes of ionospheric density profiles. The negative storm effect further reduced daytime diffusive flux. During these two storms, positive ionosphere phases (enhanced electron densities) were also observed. The diffusive velocity was much smaller during the period of positive storm effect, which led to a smaller diffusive flux than the quiet time one, although electron density was higher. It appears that storm time variations in diffusive velocity were more the results of storm time changes in the plasma vertical profile, rather than the cause of these plasma density changes.

Chen, Guang-Ming; Xu, JiYao; Wang, Wenbin; Lei, Jiuhou; Zhang, Shun-Rong;

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

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020013

diffusion; geomagnetic storm; scale height; topside ionosphere

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

Quasi two day wave-related variability in the background dynamics and composition of the mesosphere/thermosphere and the ionosphere

Dissipating planetary waves in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT) region may cause changes in the background dynamics of that region, subsequently driving variability throughout the broader thermosphere/ionosphere system via mixing due to the induced circulation changes. We report the results of case studies examining the possibility of such coupling during the northern winter in the context of the quasi two day wave (QTDW)\textemdasha planetary wave that recurrently grows to large amplitudes from the summer MLT during the postsolstice period. Six distinct QTDW events between 2003 and 2011 are identified in the MLT using Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry temperature observations. Concurrent changes to the background zonal winds, zonal mean column O/N2 density ratio, and ionospheric total electron content (TEC) are examined using data sets from Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics Doppler Interferometer, Global Ultraviolet Imager, and Global Ionospheric Maps, respectively. We find that in the 5\textendash10 days following a QTDW event, the background zonal winds in the MLT show patterns of eastward and westward anomalies in the low and middle latitudes consistent with past modeling studies on QTDW-induced mean wind forcing, both below and at turbopause altitudes. This is accompanied by potentially related decreases in zonal mean thermospheric column O/N2, as well as to low-latitude TECs. The recurrent nature of the above changes during the six QTDW events examined point to an avenue for vertical coupling via background dynamics and chemistry of the thermosphere/ionosphere not previously observed.

Chang, Loren; Yue, Jia; Wang, Wenbin; Wu, Qian; Meier, R.;

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

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.v119.610.1002/2014JA019936

composition; Ionosphere; mesosphere; quasi two day wave; thermosphere

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

Strong ionospheric field-aligned currents for radial interplanetary magnetic fields

The present work has investigated the configuration of field-aligned currents (FACs) during a long period of radial interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on 19 May 2002 by using high-resolution and precise vector magnetic field measurements of CHAMP satellite. During the interest period IMF By and Bz are weakly positive and Bx keeps pointing to the Earth for almost 10 h. The geomagnetic indices Dst is about -40 nT and AE about 100 nT on average. The cross polar cap potential calculated from Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics and derived from DMSP observations have average values of 10\textendash20 kV. Obvious hemispheric differences are shown in the configurations of FACs on the dayside and nightside. At the south pole FACs diminish in intensity to magnitudes of about 0.1 μA/m2, the plasma convection maintains two-cell flow pattern, and the thermospheric density is quite low. However, there are obvious activities in the northern cusp region. One pair of FACs with a downward leg toward the pole and upward leg on the equatorward side emerge in the northern cusp region, exhibiting opposite polarity to FACs typical for duskward IMF orientation. An obvious sunward plasma flow channel persists during the whole period. These ionospheric features might be manifestations of an efficient magnetic reconnection process occurring in the northern magnetospheric flanks at high latitude. The enhanced ionospheric current systems might deposit large amount of Joule heating into the thermosphere. The air densities in the cusp region get enhanced and subsequently propagate equatorward on the dayside. Although geomagnetic indices during the radial IMF indicate low-level activity, the present study demonstrates that there are prevailing energy inputs from the magnetosphere to both the ionosphere and thermosphere in the northern polar cusp region.

Wang, Hui; Lühr, Hermann; Shue, Jih-Hong; Frey, Harald.; Kervalishvili, Guram; Huang, Tao; Cao, Xue; Pi, Gilbert; Ridley, Aaron;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 05/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2014JA019951

air upwelling; field-aligned currents; radial interplanetary magnetic field

Spherical cap harmonic analysis of the Arctic ionospheric TEC for one solar cycle

Precise knowledge of the Arctic ionosphere total electron content (TEC) and its variations has scientific relevance due to the unique characteristics of the polar ionosphere. Understanding the Arctic TEC is also important for precise positioning and navigation in the Arctic. This study utilized the spherical cap harmonic analysis (SCHA) method to map the Arctic TEC for the most recent solar cycle from 2000 to 2013 and analyzed the distributions and variations of the Arctic TEC at different temporal and spatial scales. Even with different ionosphere conditions during the solar cycle, the results showed that the existing International Global Navigation Satellite Systems Service stations are sufficient for mapping the Arctic TEC. The SCHA method provides adequate accuracy and resolution to analyze the spatiotemporal distributions and variations of the Arctic TEC under different ionosphere conditions and to track ionization patches in this polar region (e.g., the ionization event of 26 September 2011). The results derived from the SCHA model were compared to direct observations using the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radar. The SCHA method is able to predict the TEC in the long and short terms. This paper presented a long-term prediction with a relative uncertainty of 75\% for a latency of one solar cycle and a short-term prediction with errors of \textpm2.2 total electron content units (TECUs, 1 TECU = 1016 el m-2), \textpm3.8 TECU, and \textpm4.8 TECU for a latency of 1, 2, and 3 days, respectively. The SCHA is an effective method for mapping, predicting, and analyzing the Arctic TEC.

Liu, Jingbin; Chen, Ruizhi; An, Jiachun; Wang, Zemin; Hyyppa, Juha;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 01/2014

YEAR: 2014     DOI: 10.1002/2013JA019501

Arctic navigation; ionosphere mapping and prediction; polar ionosphere; regional ionosphere model; spherical cap harmonic analysis

Ionospheric response to geomagnetic storm on July 14-17, 2012 in East Asia

Romanova, Elena; Zherebtsov, Gelii; Wang, Guojun; Zolotukhina, Nina; Polekh, Nelya; Wang, Xiao; Shi, Jiankui;

Published by: 40th COSPAR Scientific Assembly      Published on:

YEAR: 2014     DOI:

Ionospheric response to geomagnetic storm on July 14-17, 2012 in East Asia

Romanova, Elena; Zherebtsov, Gelii; Wang, Guojun; Zolotukhina, Nina; Polekh, Nelya; Wang, Xiao; Shi, Jiankui;

Published by: 40th COSPAR Scientific Assembly      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:

Predictability and Ensemble Modeling of the Space-Atmosphere Interaction Region

Matsuo, Tomoko; Fuller-Rowell, Timothy; Akmaev, Rashid; Wang, Houjun; Fang, Tzu-Wei; Ide, Kayo; Kleist, Daryl; Whitaker, JS; Yue, Xinan; Codrescu, Mihail; , others;

Published by:       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:

2013

GNSS radio occultation (RO) derived electron density quality in high latitude and polar region: NCAR-TIEGCM simulation and real data evaluation

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based radio occultation (RO) technique has shown powerful ability in ionospheric electron density profiling in the past decade. The most frequently used Abel inversion method in electron density retrieval has some biases because of the used spherical symmetry assumption. Our previous series simulations and evaluations mainly concentrated in the middle and low latitude regions have shown some systematical bias especially in lower altitude of low latitude region. However, the RO derived electron density quality in the high latitude and polar region is rarely investigated and not quantitatively clear yet. In this study, the Abel inversion error over high latitude and polar regions are systematically investigated for the first time based on NCAR-TIEGCM simulations and real data evaluations. The TIMED data driven NCAR-TIEGCM modeled electron density during 2008 are used to simulate the COSMIC RO events. The Abel inversion error can then be estimated by comparing Abel retrievals from TIEGCM simulated occultation with the original TIEGCM simulations. The Abel inversion can reproduce the season, altitude, latitude, and local time variation patterns of electron density and auroral zone electron density nighttime enhancement well in high latitude and polar region. The Abel inversion tends to underestimate the electron density in the auroral zone and overestimate it on both the equatorward and poleward sides of the auroral zone. As simulated by the TIEGCM model, the significant relative error (\>25\%) mainly occurs in lower altitude (\<250\ km) inside and around auroral zone region. Above 250\ km, the relative error mostly is less than 25\%. Specifically, RMSE (root mean square error) of NmF2 error from simulation is \~8.5\%. The Abel error under real ionosphere situation would be worse because the ionosphere could be more complicated and noisier than the model simulation. The error distribution and its seasonal, local time and latitude variations can be explained by the spherical symmetry assumption used in the Abel inversion associated with the corresponding ionospheric electron density variations. The comparisons between PFISR and COSMIC RO electron density during 2007\textendash2011 and some previous validation studies agree well with our simulation results. We hope these results can stimulate more studies in high latitude ionospheric research using RO data.

Yue, Xinan; Schreiner, William; Kuo, Ying-Hwa; Wu, Qian; Deng, Yue; Wang, Wenbin;

Published by: Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics      Published on: 06/2013

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2013.03.009

Abel inversion; AURORA; COSMIC; Electron density; GNSS radio occultation; TIEGCM

Annual/semiannual variation of the ionosphere

We investigated the relationship between the systematic annual and semiannual variations in the ionosphere and thermosphere using a combination of data analysis and model simulation. A climatology of daytime peak density and height of the ionospheric F2 layer was obtained from GPS radio occultation measurements by the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) during 2007\textendash2010. These measurements were compared to simulations by the NCAR Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM). Model reproduction of the ionospheric annual and semiannual variations was significantly improved by imposing seasonal variation of eddy diffusion at the lower boundary, which also improves agreement with thermospheric density measurements. Since changes in turbulent mixing affect both the thermosphere and ionosphere by altering the proportion of atomic and molecular gases, these results support the proposition that composition change drives the annual/semiannual variation in both the neutral and ionized components of the coupled system.

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

Published by: Geophysical Research Letters      Published on: 05/2014

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1002/grl.50448

annual/semiannual variations; climatology; eddy diffusion; gravity waves; neutral density and composition; NmF2

Annual asymmetry in thermospheric density: Observations and simulations

[1]\ In this paper, the Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) observations during 2002\textendash2010 are utilized to study the variation of the annual asymmetry in thermospheric density at 400 km under low solar activity condition (F10.7 = 80) based on the method of empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs). The derived asymmetry index (AI) in thermospheric density from the EOF analysis shows a strong latitudinal variation at night but varies a little with latitudes in daytime. Moreover, it exhibits a terdiurnal tidal signature at low to middle latitudes. The global mean value of the AI is 0.191, indicating that a 47\% difference in thermosphere between the December and June solstices in the global average. In addition, the NCAR Thermosphere-Ionosphere Electrodynamics Global Circulation Model (TIEGCM) is used to explore the possible mechanisms responsible for the observed annual asymmetry in thermospheric density. It is found that the standard simulations give a lower AI and also a weaker day-to-night difference. The simulated AI shows a semidiurnal pattern in the equatorial and low-latitude regions in contrast with the terdiurnal tide signature seen in the observed AI. The daily mean AI obtained from the simulation is 0.125, corresponding to a 29\% December-to-June difference in thermospheric density at 400 km. Further sensitivity simulations demonstrated that the effect of the varying Sun-Earth distance between the December and June solstices is the main process responsible for the annual asymmetry in thermospheric density, while the magnetic field configuration and tides from the lower atmosphere contribute to the temporal and spatial variations of the AI. Specifically, the simulations show that the Sun-Earth distance effect explains 93\% of the difference in thermospheric density between December and June, which is mainly associated with the corresponding changes in neutral temperature. However, our calculation from the density observations reveals that the varying Sun-Earth distance effect only accounts for ~67\% of the December-to-June difference in thermosphere density, indicating that the TIEGCM might significantly underestimate the forcing originating from the lower atmosphere.

Lei, Jiuhou; Dou, Xiankang; Burns, Alan; Wang, Wenbin; Luan, Xiaoli; Zeng, Zhen; Xu, JiYao;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 05/2013

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.50253

Annual asymmetry; Empirical orthogonal functions; Sun-Earth distance; Upper thermosphere

Geomagnetic and auroral activity driven by corotating interaction regions during the declining phase of Solar Cycle 23

A superposed epoch analysis is performed to investigate the relative impact of the solar wind/interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) on geomagnetic activity, auroral hemispheric power, and auroral morphology during corotating interaction regions (CIRs) events between 2002 and 2007, when auroral images from Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics/Global Ultraviolet Imager were available. Four categories of CIRs have been compared. These were classified by the averaged IMF Bz and the time of maximum solar wind dynamic pressure around the CIR stream interface or onset time. It is found that during CIR events: (1) The peaks of auroral power and Kp were largely associated with dominant southward Bz, whereas auroral activity also became stronger with increases of solar wind speed, density, and dynamic pressure. (2) The percentage and absolute increases of auroral hemispheric power with solar wind speed were much greater under dominantly northward Bz conditions than under dominantly southward Bz conditions. (3) The enhancement of the auroral power and Kp with increasing solar wind speed followed the same pattern, for both dominantly southward and northward Bz conditions, regardless of the behavior of solar wind density and dynamic pressure. These results suggest that, during CIR events, southward Bz played the most critical role in determining geomagnetic and auroral activity, whereas solar wind speed was the next most important contributor. The solar wind dynamic pressure was the less important factor, as compared with Bz and solar wind speed. Relatively strong auroral precipitation energy flux (\> ~3 mW/m2) occurred in a wider auroral oval region after the stream interface than before it for both dominantly northward and southward Bz conditions. These conditions enhanced the auroral hemispheric power after the stream interface. Intense auroral precipitation (\> ~4 mW/m2) generally occurred widely at night under dominantly southward Bz conditions, but the location of this precipitation in the auroral oval was different when it was associated with different solar wind density and speed conditions.

Luan, Xiaoli; Wang, Wenbin; Lei, Jiuhou; Burns, Alan; Dou, Xiankang; Xu, JiYao;

Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics      Published on: 03/2013

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1002/jgra.50195

auroral morphology; corotating interaction regions; solar wind/IMF forcing

Solar cycle dependence of the seasonal variation of auroral hemispheric power

Although much has been done on the hemispheric asymmetry (or seasonal variations) of auroral hemispheric power (HP), the dependence of HP hemispheric asymmetry on solar cycle has not yet been studied. We have analyzed data during 1979\textendash2010 and investigated the dependence of HP hemispheric asymmetry/seasonal variation for the whole solar cycle. Here we show that (1) the hemispheric asymmetry of HP is positively correlated to the value of solar F10.7 with some time delay; (2) it is closely related to the coupling function between the solar wind and magnetosphere; and (3) the winter hemisphere receives more auroral power than the summer hemisphere for K p\~0 to 6. The statistic results can be partly understood in the framework of the ionospheric conductivity feedback model. The similarity and differences between our results and previous results are discussed in the paper.

Zheng, Ling; Fu, SuiYan; Zong, QuiGang; Parks, George; Wang, Chi; Chen, Xi;

Published by: Chinese Science Bulletin      Published on: 02/2013

YEAR: 2013     DOI: 10.1007/s11434-012-5378-6

auroral power; coupling function; hemispheric asymmetry; precipitation; solar cycle



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