Premium
Variations in Thermosphere Composition and Ionosphere Total Electron Content Under “Geomagnetically Quiet” Conditions at Solar‐Minimum
Author(s) -
Cai Xuguang,
Burns Alan G.,
Wang Wenbin,
Qian Liying,
Pedatella Nicholas,
Coster Anthea,
Zhang Shunrong,
Solomon Stanley C.,
Eastes Richard W.,
Daniell Robert E.,
McClintock William E.
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 - 10.1029/2021gl093300
Subject(s) - thermosphere , tec , total electron content , ionosphere , atmospheric sciences , latitude , solar minimum , daytime , earth's magnetic field , geomagnetic latitude , quiet , middle latitudes , forcing (mathematics) , solar maximum , f region , international reference ionosphere , solar cycle , geology , geophysics , physics , geodesy , solar wind , plasma , astronomy , quantum mechanics , magnetic field
We conducted observational and modeling studies of thermospheric composition and ionospheric total electron content (TEC) variations during two geomagnetically quiet periods (maximum Kp = 1.7) at solar minimum. Daytime thermospheric O and N 2 column density ratio (∑O/N 2 ) observed by Global‐scale Observations of the Limb and Disk and TEC from a network of ground‐based Global Navigation Satellites System receivers both exhibited large (∼30% of reference values) and long‐lived (5–11 h) day‐to‐day variations in roughly the same mid‐latitude geographic regions. Numerical simulations replicated the observed variability, though not perfectly. Analysis of the simulations suggested that the variations were mainly generated in the high‐latitudes and were subsequently advected equatorward and westward. When high‐latitudes input was turned off in simulations, the variations were negligible. This suggested the potentially important role of high‐latitude geomagnetic forcing in thermospheric composition and ionospheric density variations at mid‐latitudes even during some “geomagnetically quiet” periods at solar‐minimum.