The Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere (TI) are characterized by perpetual variability as integral parts of the atmosphere system, with intermittent disturbances from solar and geomagnetic forcing. This review examines how the TI variability is affected by processes originating from the lower atmosphere and implications for quantifying and forecasting the TI. This aspect of the TI variability has been increasingly appreciated in recent years from both observational and numerical studies, especially during the last extended solar minimum. This review focuses on the role of atmospheric waves, including tides, planetary waves, gravity waves, and acoustic waves, which become increasingly significant as they propagate from their source region to the upper atmosphere. Recent studies have led to better understanding of how these waves directly or indirectly affect TI wind, temperature, and compositional structures; the circulation pattern; neutral and ion species transport; and ionospheric wind dynamo. The variability of these waves on daily to interannual scales has been found to significantly impact the TI variability. Several outstanding questions and challenges have been highlighted: (i) large, seemingly stochastic, day-to-day variability of tides in the TI; (ii) control of model error in the TI region by the lower atmosphere; and (iii) the increasing importance of processes with shorter spatial and temporal scales at higher altitudes. Addressing these challenges requires model capabilities to assimilate observations of both lower and upper atmosphere and higher model resolution to capture complex interactions among processes over a broad range of scales and extended altitudes.

/pdf/variability-and-predictability-of-the-space-environment-as-3lx2m563ju.pdf

Variability and predictability of the space environment as related to lower atmosphere forcing

[1] The atmospheric tide at ionospheric heights is composed of those locally generated and those propagated from below. The role of the latter in producing the variability of the daytime ionosphere is examined using the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model. The impact of upward-propagating tides is evaluated by running simulations with and without tidal forcing at the lower boundary (approximately 96 km), which imitates the effect of tides from below. When migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides at the lower boundary is switched on, the intensity of E region currents and the upward velocity of the equatorial F region vertical plasma drift rapidly increase. The low-latitude ionospheric total electron content (TEC) first increases, then gradually decreases to below the initial level. The initial increase in the low-latitude TEC is caused by an enhanced equatorial plasma fountain while the subsequent decrease is due to changes in the neutral composition, which are characterized by a global-scale reduction in the mass mixing ratio of atomic oxygen O1. The results of further numerical experiments indicate that the mean meridional circulation induced by dissipating tides in the lower thermosphere is mainly responsible for the O1 reduction; it acts like an additional turbulent eddy and produces a “mixing effect” that enhances net downward transport and loss of O1. It is stressed that both electrodynamic effects and mixing effects of upward-propagating tides can be important in producing the variability of ionospheric plasma density. Since the two mechanisms act in different ways on different time scales, the response of the actual ionosphere to highly variable upward-propagating tides is expected to be complex.

/pdf/a-theory-of-ionospheric-response-to-upward-propagating-tides-4z262steb6.pdf

A theory of ionospheric response to upward‐propagating tides: Electrodynamic effects and tidal mixing effects

[1] We analyzed 11 years' (1998–2008) worth of the total electron content (TEC) data derived at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from Global Positioning System (GPS) observations to investigate the overall climatological features of the ionosphere in a new way. The global ionospheric maps (GIM) of JPL TEC are averaged globally and over low-, middle-, and high-latitude ranges in the southern (northern) hemisphere and both hemispheres to identify their capability of capturing the overall features of the ionosphere. These mean TEC data show strong annual/semiannual, solar cycle, and 27-day variations. The mean TEC presents stronger solar activity sensitivity at lower-latitude bands. Moreover, the saturation effect exists in these mean TEC versus solar index F10.7, more pronounced at low latitudes, while the mean TEC increases faster with higher solar EUV fluxes, being evident at high latitudes. The annual asymmetry (differences in June and December solstices) can be detected in the mean TEC averaged globally and at low latitudes under all solar epochs as well as at middle and high latitudes under most solar activities. The hemispheric asymmetry of the TEC in conjugate hemispheres follows the control of solar declination. Both the hemispheric differences and annual asymmetry are more marked with increasing solar activity. The annual components of the mean TEC are stronger in the southern hemisphere, and the semiannual components are of similar phases and comparable amplitudes in conjugate hemispheres, which suggest close couplings of the ionosphere in both hemispheres. Further, the mean TEC averaged in one hemisphere can reliably be used as ionospheric indices to monitor the solar activity variabilities and to capture the overall climatological features of the ionosphere over specified regions, while it should be cautioned that the mitigation of the dominant annual components with opposite phases in conjugate hemispheres leaves a significant semiannual component in the mean TEC averaged in both hemispheres, especially under low solar activity.

/pdf/climatology-of-the-mean-total-electron-content-derived-from-2w758o6uhf.pdf

Climatology of the mean total electron content derived from GPS global ionospheric maps

[1] This paper presents statistical analysis of arctic auroral oval ionospheric scintillation events during the current solar maximum based on high-rate Global Positioning System data collected in Gakona, Alaska (62.39°N, 145.15°W) from August 2010 to March 2013. The objective is to gain a better understanding of the climatology and morphology of ionospheric scintillation in high-latitude regions. A scintillation event filter, multipath identification procedures, and other processes are applied to exclude nonscintillation related signal intensity and phase fluctuation and to extract scintillation events with S4 index above 0.12 and phase sigma above 6° from over 657 days of data. A total of over 5800 scintillation events were identified; most of them show phase fluctuations, only 10% of the phase fluctuations are accompanied by weak amplitude scintillation. Based on the occurrence time, signal direction of arrival, intensity, and duration of these scintillation events and the solar and geomagnetic activities associated with these events, diurnal, seasonal, spatial, and solar activity dependencies are derived and presented in the paper.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2013RS005259

Characterization of high‐latitude ionospheric scintillation of GPS signals

[1] The occurrence statistics of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) obtained from low-inclination orbit satellites are significantly affected by the way the data are sampled and the way that the EPBs are counted. To resolve the discrepancy between the EPB occurrence frequency determined by ground-based observations and in situ sampling of plasma density from spacecraft, we have developed a new EPB detection method that minimizes the dependence of the EPB occurrence rate on the data processing method. The global EPB distribution maps are created by analyzing the measurements of the ion density from the first Republic of China satellite (ROCSAT-1) during March 1999 to June 2004. The EPB occurrence probability obtained using our new EPB detection method is a few times greater than that obtained using the conventional method. Our results are comparable to the ground observations. The good agreement of the global EPB distribution with the global morphology of the evening prereversal enhancement (PRE) of vertical ion velocity supports the notion that the PRE is an important factor on a global scale in the generation of EPBs. However, the generation of EPBs is not guaranteed by the occurrence of an intense PRE. Other mechanisms, in addition to the PRE, should be considered as an explanation for the occurrence of EPBs on the topside.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2008JA013672

Global bubble distribution seen from ROCSAT-1 and its association with the evening prereversal enhancement

. In the present work we use the NASA-JPL global ionospheric maps of total electron content (TEC), firstly to construct TEC maps (TEC vs. magnetic local time MLT, and magnetic latitude MLAT) in the interval from 1999 to 2005. These TEC maps were, in turn, used to estimate the annual-to-mean amplitude ratio, A1, and the semiannual-to-mean amplitude ratio, A2, as well as the latitudinal symmetrical and asymmetrical parts, A' and A" of A1. Thus, we investigated in detail the TEC climatology from maps of these indices, with an emphasis on the quantitative presentation for local time and latitudinal changes in the seasonal, annual and semiannual anomalies of the ionospheric TEC. Then we took the TEC value at 14:00 LT to examine various anomalies at a global scale following the same procedure. Results reveal similar features appearing in NmF2, such as that the seasonal anomaly is more significant in the near-pole regions than in the far-pole regions and the reverse is true for the semiannual anomaly; the winter anomaly has least a chance to be observed at the South America and South Pacific areas. The most impressive feature is that the equinoctial asymmetry is most prominent at the East Asian and South Australian areas. Through the analysis of the TIMED GUVI columnar [O/N2] data, we have investigated to what extent the seasonal, annual and semiannual variations can be explained by their counterparts in [O/N2]. Results revealed that the [O/N2] variation is a major contributor to the daytime winter anomaly of TEC, and it also contributes to some of the semiannual and annual anomalies. The contribution to the anomalies unexplained by the [O/N2] data could possibly be due to the dynamics associated with thermospheric winds and electric fields.

/pdf/features-of-annual-and-semiannual-variations-derived-from-324mgzdtes.pdf

Features of annual and semiannual variations derived from the global ionospheric maps of total electron content

. The evening pre-reversal vertical drift velocity enhancement (PRE) constitutes an important seeding mechanism for the generation of F region irregularities. Ion density and drift measurements from ROCSAT-1 and DMSP satellites are used to examine the correlation of longitudinal/seasonal (l/s) variations in the evening pre-reversal vertical drift velocity at the magnetic equator in the topside ionosphere and the plasma bubble (PB) occurrence probability. The analysis performed for three years 2000–2002 (solar maximum), provides consistent evidence as the ground observations that the equatorial PB occurrence is dependent on and increases approximately linearly with PRE, and the l/s variations of PRE play an important role in the global l/s distribution of PB occurrence. The solstitial evening PRE and equatorial PB occurrence show similar longitudinal variations: During June solstice, two peaks appear in the African and Pacific longitude sectors, and two minimums are observed in the Indian and American regions; During December solstice, the situation is approximately opposite. The equinoctial longitudinal effects are comparably small. It is concluded that the large-scale l/s variations of equatorial PB occurrence can be closely related to the l/s variations of PRE.

http://sourcedb.igg.cas.cn/cn/zjrck/200907/W020100506510952542720.pdf

Zhuoxiang Ren

Papers

Features of annual and semiannual variations derived from the global ionospheric maps of total electron content

The correlation of longitudinal/seasonal variations of evening equatorial pre-reversal drift and of plasma bubbles

A simulation study for the couplings between DE3 tide and longitudinal WN4 structure in the thermosphere and ionosphere