Premium
Main Wave Sources of the Longitudinal Structures of Equatorial Electric Field
Author(s) -
Liu Yangkun,
Xu Jiyao,
Xiong Chao,
Liu Xiao,
Guo Bing
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2021gl092426
Subject(s) - electric field , ionosphere , daytime , physics , atmospheric sciences , wavenumber , trough (economics) , geology , meteorology , geophysics , climatology , quantum mechanics , optics , economics , macroeconomics
The E‐region equatorial electric field (EEF) modulates distributions in the ionosphere at equatorial and low latitudes via the fountain effect. Using Swarm data during the daytime and geomagnetically quiet periods (Kp ≤ 3), we perform a detailed analysis of the main wave sources of the longitudinal structures of the EEF (LS EEF ) in different seasons by fitting the LS EEF with longitudinal wavenumber 1–4 patterns (WN1–WN4), and further matching the dominant tides and stationary planetary waves. The results indicate that: (a) Although the LS EEF exhibit significant seasonal dependence, a prominent one‐peaked structure exists in all seasons (peak: 90°E–120°E; trough: 30°W–70°W). (b) WN1 (WN4) contributes most to the LS EEF over four seasons (spring to autumn) with fractions of 26%–39% (25%–38%). (c) The main wave sources of the LS EEF are DW2 (DE3 and DE2; DE3; DW2 and SW4) in spring (summer; autumn; winter) with each contribution exceeding 15%.