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The Latitudinal Variation and Hemispheric Asymmetry of the Ionospheric Lunitidal Signatures in the American Sector During Major Sudden Stratospheric Warming Events
Author(s) -
Liu Jing,
Zhang Donghe,
Goncharenko Larisa P.,
Zhang ShunRong,
He Maosheng,
Hao Yongqiang,
Xiao Zuo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2020ja028859
Subject(s) - ionosphere , asymmetry , middle latitudes , atmospheric sciences , northern hemisphere , earth's magnetic field , anomaly (physics) , geology , latitude , climatology , sudden stratospheric warming , geophysics , stratosphere , physics , geodesy , magnetic field , polar vortex , quantum mechanics , condensed matter physics
During sudden stratospheric warming events, the ionosphere exhibits phase‐shifted semidiurnal perturbations, which are typically attributed to vertical coupling associated with the semidiurnal lunar tide (M2). Our understanding of ionospheric responses to M2 is limited. This study focuses on fundamental vertical coupling processes associated with the latitudinal extent and hemispheric asymmetry of ionospheric M2 signatures using total electron content data from the American sector. Our results illustrate that the asymmetry maximizes at 15°N and 20°S magnetic latitudes. In the Southern Hemisphere, the M2‐like signatures extend deep into midlatitude and encounter the Weddell Sea Anomaly. The time evolution of the Anomaly exhibits a distortion, which is attributed to an M2 modulation. The hemispheric asymmetry of M2 signatures in the low latitude can be primarily explained by the transequatorial wind modulation of the equatorial plasma fountain. Other physical processes could also be relevant, including hemispheric asymmetry of the M2 below the F‐region, the ambient thermospheric composition and ionospheric plasma distribution, and the geomagnetic field configuration.