Dawn Sector Plasma Density Observations from DMSP

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

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[2415] Ionosphere / Equatorial Ionosphere, [2437] Ionosphere / Ionospheric Dynamics, [2439] Ionosphere / Ionospheric Irregularities

Scientific paper

Before the launch of the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) spacecraft, equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) were generally regarded as a post-sunset phenomenon. However, solar minimum observations from the first two years of the C/NOFS mission reveal a very different picture of equatorial dynamics. The planar Langmuir probe (PLP) on the C/NOFS satellite has detected very few irregularities after sunset. Most plasma turbulence was observed after midnight and at dawn at all C/NOFS altitudes and longitudes. These results suggested that a study of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) dawn sector plasma density measurements might be useful to determine if this shift is typical of solar minimum conditions or the result of this unusually quiet span of solar activity. DMSP observations indicate that equatorial dynamics in the dawn sector are quite different from those of the evening side. For DMSP F17 in 2008 and 2009 the occurrence rates of plasma depletions in the dawn sector were highest around the June and December solstices and extremely low near the March and September equinoxes. For previous solar minimum years 1996 and 1997, dawn sector measurements from F13 exhibited significantly lower rates of occurrence but similar distribution patterns by season and longitude. A preliminary analysis suggests that the low levels of solar EUV flux and reduced electric fields during 2008-2009 established very favorable conditions for the development of post-midnight irregularities.

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