Ionosphere response to solar wind high-speed streams

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Other Authors: Lei, Jiuhou (author), Thayer, Jeffrey (author), Forbes, Jeffrey (author), Wu, Qian (author), She, Chengli (author), Wan, Weixing (author), Wang, Wenbin (author)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 2008
• Subjects: Ionosphere; periodic oscillation; solar wind high-speed streams; Resolute Bay
• Online Access: http://nldr.library.ucar.edu/repository/collections/OSGC-000-000-003-121; https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL035208

We present 9- and 7-day periodic oscillations in the global mean Total Electron Content (TEC) from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006. Spectral analysis indicates that the pronounced periodicities of 9 and 7 days observed in TEC are associated with variations in solar wind high-speed streams and geomagnetic activity. Neutral temperature and winds near 250 km, measured by a Fabry-Perot Interferometer at Resolute Bay, also exhibit 9- and 7-day periodicities. These pronounced periodicities support simultaneous observations of 9- and 7-day periodicities in thermosphere neutral density (Lei et al., 2008a; Thayer et al., 2008). It is anticipated that the ionospheric response at 9 and 7 days represents some combination of effects due to chemical loss, neutral winds, and disturbance dynamo-driven electric fields.