Equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics observations in the African and American longitudinal sectors

Details Equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics observations in the African and American longitudinal sectors Equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics observations in the African and American longitudinal sectors

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufmsa14a..06y&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #SA14A-06

Other

[2411] Ionosphere / Electric Fields, [2415] Ionosphere / Equatorial Ionosphere, [2437] Ionosphere / Ionospheric Dynamics, [2439] Ionosphere / Ionospheric Irregularities

Scientific paper

Recent ground- and space-based observations have shown dramatic longitudinal differences in equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics, such as enhanced generation of F-region plasma irregularities and the super fountain effect at low latitudes. For example, satellite observations have shown very unique equatorial ionospheric density structures in the African region. The African region is the longitude sector where the peak in large scale plasma depletion activity (zonal width, depletion level, and spacing) is maximal, in which no other region of the globe showed similar characteristics. Indeed, the most recent in situ density observations from the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite also reveal similar maximal density depletion activities in Africa. However, the dearth of ground-based instrumentation in the region makes it difficult to confirm the ground-based signatures of these unique equatorial ionospheric structures, ultimately leading the investigation of their physics into speculation. This initiated several open questions, which include: What are the possible governing mechanisms that create unique equatorial structures in Africa? In order to answer such open questions, recently limited progress has been made and very few ground-based instruments, including the AMBER magnetometers network, have been deployed in the region. One of many objectives of AMBER magnetometers network, in coordination with ground- and space-based GPS receiver observations, is to understand the fundamental electrodynamics that govern equatorial ionospheric motion, which includes the evolution and formation of equatorial anomaly. This paper presents initial results from the AMBER magnetometer network and compares electrodynamics results in the Africa sector with similar observations in the American sector. The electron density structure in response to the electrodynamics is also investigated using the available ground-based GPS receivers in the region as well as data from GPS receivers on board LEO satellites. While AMBER infers the F-region vertical plasma drift (ExB drift) from the ground, the ground- and space-based GPS network monitor the structure of plasma at low/mid-latitudes. Finally, comparisons between the ground-based magnetometer estimated drift and the vertical ExB drift observations measured by probes on the C/NOFS satellite are presented.

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