Electron density variability of nighttime D region ionosphere in Vietnamese and Japanese sectors

Abstract

Recording tweek atmospherics on geomagnetically quiet days in 2014 at Tay Nguyen University (TNU) (12.65°N, 108.02°E), Vietnam, and at Kagoshima (KAG) (31.48°N, 130.72°E), Japan, we investigated the nighttime electron density variability of the D region ionosphere between the equatorial‐low‐latitude Vietnamese and the low‐ to middle‐latitude Japanese sectors. We estimated the reflection height and electron density of the D region ionosphere using the first‐order mode cutoff frequency of tweek atmospherics. The results observed at both stations show that the mean electron density at the reflection height during winter season was higher than that during summer and equinox seasons. The electron density observed at TNU gradually decreased from 20:15 to 4:15 LT from winter to equinox and to summer. The electron density observed at KAG increased from 20:20 to 4:20 LT during summer and winter seasons. The mean electron density during 2014 observed at TNU (25.0 cm−3) was higher by 2.1 cm−3 than that observed at KAG (22.9 cm−3). During 2014, the nighttime electron density variations show a moderate positive correlation with the sunspot number but show weak to no correlation with the galactic cosmic rays. We suggest that the seasonal variations in the nighttime electron density could be significantly caused by the enhancement of geocoronal hydrogen Lyman α intensity and seasonal variation of nitric oxide density in the lower ionosphere.