High‐density GPS receivers located in Southeast Asia (SEA) were utilized to study the two‐dimensional structure of ionospheric plasma irregularities in the equatorial region. The longitudinal and latitudinal variations of tens of kilometer‐scale irregularities associated with equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) were investigated using two‐dimensional maps of the rate of total electron content change index (ROTI) from 127 GPS receivers with an average spacing of about 50–100 km. The longitudinal variations of the two‐dimensional maps of GPS ROTI measurement on 5 April 2011 revealed that 16 striations of EPBs were generated continuously around the passage of the solar terminator. The separation distance between the subsequent onset locations varied from 100 to 550 km with 10 min intervals. The lifetimes of the EPBs observed by GPS ROTI measurement were between 50 min and over 7 h. The EPBs propagated 440–3000 km toward the east with velocities of 83–162 m s−1. The longitudinal variations of EPBs by GPS ROTI keogram coincided with the depletions of 630 nm emission observed using the airglow imager. Six EPBs were observed by GPS ROTI along the meridian of Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR), while only three EPBs were detected by the EAR. The high‐density GPS receivers in SEA have an advantage of providing time continuous descriptions of latitudinal/longitudinal variations of EPBs with both high spatial resolution and broad geographical coverage. The spatial periodicity of the EPBs could be associated with a wavelength of the quasiperiodic structures on the bottomside of the F region which initiate the Rayleigh‐Taylor instability.

We investigated a postmidnight field‐aligned irregularity (FAI) event observed with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar at Kototabang (0.2°S, 100.3°E, dip latitude 10.4°S) in Indonesia on the night of 9 July 2010 using a comprehensive data set of both neutral and plasma parameters. We examined the rate of total electron content change index (ROTI) obtained from GPS receivers in Southeast Asia, airglow images detected by an all‐sky imager, and thermospheric neutral winds and temperatures obtained by a Fabry‐Perot interferometer at Kototabang. Altitudes of the F layer (h′F) observed by ionosondes at Kototabang, Chiang Mai, and Chumphon were also surveyed. We found that the postmidnight FAIs occurred within plasma bubbles and coincided with kilometer‐scale plasma density irregularities. We also observed an enhancement of the magnetically equatorward thermospheric neutral wind at the same time as the increase of h′F at low‐latitude stations, but h′F at a station near the magnetic equator remained invariant. Simultaneously, a magnetically equatorward gradient of thermospheric temperature was identified at Kototabang. The convergence of equatorward neutral winds from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres could be associated with a midnight temperature maximum occurring around the magnetic equator. Equatorward neutral winds can uplift the F layer at low latitudes and increase the growth rate of Rayleigh‐Taylor instabilities, causing more rapid extension of plasma bubbles. The equatorward winds in both hemispheres also intensify the eastward Pedersen current, so a large polarization electric field generated in the plasma bubble might play an important role in the generation of postmidnight FAIs.

The occurrence rate of the equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) with season, solar activity, and geomagnetic conditions are investigated using long‐term data sets of Malaysia Real‐Time Kinematics Network (MyRTKnet) from 2008 to 2013. The rate of TEC (total electron content) change index (ROTI) in 5 min was derived from MyRTKnet data to detect the EPB with scale sizes around tens of kilometers. Then, the daily east‐west cross sections of 2‐D ROTI maps were used to examine the EPB features over 100°E–119°E longitudes. The EPBs tend to occur successively in one night along the observational coverage of MyRTKnet during equinoxes in high solar activity years. The perturbations in a form of wavelike structures along the observed longitudes might be responsible for the development of successive EPBs due to high growth rate of the Rayleigh‐Taylor instability (RTI) process. On the contrary, the occurrence of successive EPBs is infrequent and the occurrence day of EPB remains active during equinoctial months in low solar activity years. The small growth rate of the RTI process during low solar activity years might require a strong seed perturbation to generate the EPB structure. The occurrence probability of the EPB was found to be similar during quiet and disturbed geomagnetic conditions. The results imply that the strong perturbations play an important role in the development of the EPB in low solar activity years. Nonetheless, the high growth rate of the RTI could cause the successive occurrence of the EPB in high solar activity years.