Seasonal trends of nighttime plasma density enhancements in the topside ionosphere

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
• Main Authors: Slominska, Ewa, Blecki, Jan, Lebreton, Jean-Pierre, Parrot, Michel, Slominski, Jan
• Other Authors: OBSEE, Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK), Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales Paris (CNES)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Langmuir; Weddell; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01174366; https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01174366/document; https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01174366/file/Slominska_et_al-2014-Journal_of_Geophysical_Research__Space_Physics.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JA020181

International audience In situ registrations of electron density from the Langmuir probe on board Detection ofElectro-Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions satellite are used to study spatialand temporal evolution of nighttime plasma density enhancements (NPDEs). The study introduces thenormalized density difference index INDD in order to provide global estimates of the phenomenon. In thevalidation test, in situ data are compared with synthetic data set generated with the International ReferenceIonosphere model. We find signatures of two most common examples of NPDEs, the Weddell Sea Anomaly(WSA) and midlatitude nighttime summer anomaly (MSNA) with proposed index, in the topside ionosphere.The study provides evidence that the occurrence of the WSA and MSNA is not limited to the local summerconditions. Analyzed annual trend of INDD and in particular spatial pattern obtained during equinoxessuggest that mechanisms governing the behavior of the equatorial ionosphere cannot be neglected in theexplanation of the development of NPDEs.