Revealing the EMIC Wave Frequency Differences in the Ionosphere via Coordinated Observations: A Case Study

Abstract

We study electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves based on observations from the ionosphere, magnetosphere, and ground during a geomagnetic storm recovery phase on 28 August 2018. In this case, multiple ducting EMIC waves in the ionosphere show higher frequencies in the post‐midnight than those in the pre‐midnight. Ionospheric EMIC wave frequency differences in magnetic local time (MLT) are consistent with MLT frequency differences in the equatorial magnetosphere, which are mainly caused by different background magnetic field at different L‐shells. Moreover, we report the first observation of frequency range selections in ionospheric ducting EMIC waves and find that frequency selections depend on the magnetic field intensity in the main part of the ionospheric waveguide, with higher frequency corresponding to larger magnetic field. This study reveals the important role of background magnetic field in regulating ducting EMIC wave frequencies in the ionosphere.