Weak magnetic storms can modulate ionosphere-plasmasphere interaction significantly: mechanisms and manifestations at mid-latitudes
A comprehensive study of the response of the ionosphere-plasmasphere system at mid-latitudes to weak (Dstmin > -50 nT) magnetic storms is presented. For the first time, it is shown that weak magnetic disturbances can lead to significant modulation of ionosphere-plasmasphere H+ ion fluxes. It is f...
| Autores: | , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2019 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/179191 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/179191 https://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2019JA027076 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Geophysics Astronomy and astrophysics Weak magnetic storms ionosphere-plasmasphere interaction modulation of H+ ion flux topside ion composition thermosphere hydrogen density mid-latitude ionosphere Geofísica Astrofísica Classificació AMS::86 Geophysics Classificació AMS::85 Astronomy and astrophysics Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Matemàtiques i estadística::Matemàtica aplicada a les ciències |
| Sumario: | A comprehensive study of the response of the ionosphere-plasmasphere system at mid-latitudes to weak (Dstmin > -50 nT) magnetic storms is presented. For the first time, it is shown that weak magnetic disturbances can lead to significant modulation of ionosphere-plasmasphere H+ ion fluxes. It is found that this modulation is caused by the enhancements/reductions of the topside O+ ion density, which is induced by F2-layer peak height rise and fall during the storms. The F2-layer motion is caused by thermospheric wind changes and by a penetration electric field. Both drivers are closely related to the changes in the Bz component of interplanetary magnetic field. The most prominent manifestation of the H+ ion flux modulation is strong changes in H+ ion fraction in the topside ionosphere. This study also indicates that the NRLMSISE-00 model provides the correct relative changes of neutral H density during weak magnetic storms and also that there is a compelling need to include geomagnetic activity indices, in addition to solar activity (F10.7), as input parameters to empirical topside ionosphere models. |
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