Characterizing the 10 November 2004 storm‐time middle‐latitude plasma bubble event in Southeast Asia using multi‐instrument observations

Abstract

The development and dynamics of ionospheric plasma bubble (PB) irregularity during the super storm of 7–11 November 2004 are investigated using the data from a multi‐instrument network operated in Southeast Asia. Analysis of fluctuations in Global Positioning System total electron content (GPS TEC), ionosonde, GPS scintillation, and in situ satellite density data indicates a series of intense PB‐associated irregularities at equatorial, low, and middle latitudes in the Japanese longitude on 10 November. However, in the Chinese sector, the scintillations and PB irregularities are confined within the range of 20–50°N in geographic latitude and 110–125°E in geographic longitude. The absence of equatorial PB irregularities in this sector shows a major difference from that in the close‐by longitude Japanese sector. In the Southern Hemisphere Australian sector, the irregularities occurrence is present as a symmetrical distribution at conjugate latitudes. Combined analysis of the data from Osan and Wuhan ionosondes illustrates that the middle‐latitude spread F irregularities initially develop at the lower part of the F region and then distribute in the whole F region. This initiation of spread F at lower altitudes indicates that the middle‐latitude PB‐associated irregularities are locally generated. These results together with the irregularities occurrence sequence from higher to lower latitudes, and the onset time delay of several hours implies that the presence of PB‐associated irregularities within a latitude range of 20–50°N in the Chinese sector cannot be attributed to the effects of prompt penetration electric fields (PPEFs), although the equatorial PBs in the close‐by longitude are seen to be associated with PPEFs. The possible mechanism is the F region plasma instabilities triggered by wave structures, which act as an external driving force and seed active plasma dynamics and instability growth at middle latitude.

Effects observed in the ionospheric F-region in the South American sector during the intense geomagnetic storm of 14 December 2006

“…Therefore, studies related to ESF generation or suppression during an intense geomagnetically disturbed period are assuming great importance. Li et al (2009) have investigated the characteristic of plasma bubbles occurrence in Southeast Asia during the super storm of 7-11 November 2004 using data from GPS, ionosondes, magnetometers and satellite. Li et al (2009) observed that prompt penetration of magnetospheric electric field to equatorial ionosphere contribute to spread-F generation in equatorial and low latitude on 10 November in the Japanese and eastern longitudes.…”

“…Li et al (2009) have investigated the characteristic of plasma bubbles occurrence in Southeast Asia during the super storm of 7-11 November 2004 using data from GPS, ionosondes, magnetometers and satellite. Li et al (2009) observed that prompt penetration of magnetospheric electric field to equatorial ionosphere contribute to spread-F generation in equatorial and low latitude on 10 November in the Japanese and eastern longitudes. Lei et al (2008a,b) have investigated the thermospheric and ionospheric response to this geomagnetic storm using ionospheric observations and Coupled Magnetosphere Ionosphere Thermosphere (CMIT) 2.0 model simulation.…”

A comparative study of GPS ionospheric scintillations and ionogram spread F over Sanya

“…Under geomagnetically disturbed conditions, the density depletions could also be formed at mid-latitudes by penetrating electric field or disturbance electric field just as they are formed in the equatorial region (Li et al, 2009). However, under geomagnetically quiet conditions, radar observations indicate that the mid-latitude F region irregularity structures are quite different from equatorial ones and might be associated with the mid-latitude instabilities .…”

The transition to overshielding after sharp and gradual interplanetary magnetic field northward turning

“…In recent years, the penetration electric field has been used extensively to interpret various disturbances in the midlatitude and low-latitude ionosphere [e.g., Kelley et al, 2003;Huang et al, 2005;Zhao et al, 2005Zhao et al, , 2008Wei et al, 2008a;Li et al, 2009Li et al, , 2010Guo et al, 2010;Huang, 2009;Zong et al, 2010]. The duskward penetration electric field sometimes can be completely canceled by the dawnward shielding electric field in the ring current, which is called "perfect shielding" [Goldstein, 2006] or "goodshielding" [Wolf et al, 2007].…”