Ionospheric Topside Diffusive Flux and the Formation of Summer Nighttime Ionospheric Electron Density Enhancement Over Millstone Hill
Name
Geophysical Research Letters - 2022 - Cai - Ionospheric Topside Diffusive Flux and the Formation of Summer Nighttime.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.53 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
02304f65d794ed4b639de54a87e120a1
Author(s)
Cai, Yihui
Yue, Xinan
Wang, Wenbin
Zhang, Shun‐Rong
Liu, Huixin
Lei, Jiuhou
Ren, Zhipeng
Chen, Yiding
Ding, Feng
Ren, Dexin
Date Issued
February 10, 2022
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Cai, Y., Yue, X., Wang, W., Zhang, S.-R., Liu, H., Lei, J., et al. (2022). Ionospheric topside diffusive flux and the formation of summer nighttime ionospheric electron density enhancement over Millstone Hill. Geophysical Research Letters, 49, e2021GL097651.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Ionospheric F-region electron density is anomalously higher in the evening than during the daytime on many occasions in the summer in geomagnetic mid-latitude regions. This unexpected ionospheric diurnal variation has been studied for several decades. The underlying processes have been suggested to be related to meridional winds, topside influx arising from sunset ionospheric collapse, and other factors. However, substantial controversies remain unresolved. Using a numerical model driven by the statistical topside O+ diffusive flux from the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar data, we provide new insight into the competing roles of topside diffusive flux, neutral winds, and electric fields in forming the evening density peak. Simulations indicate that while meridional winds, which turn equatorward before sunset, are essential to sustain the daytime ionization near dusk, the topside diffusive flux is critically important for the formation and timing of the summer evening density peak.
MIT Department
Haystack Observatory
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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl097651
