Response of the equatorial ionosphere to the geomagnetic DP 2 current system
Abstract
The response of equatorial ionosphere to the magnetospheric origin DP 2 current system fluctuations is examined using ground‐based multiinstrument observations. The interaction between the solar wind and magnetosphere generates a convection electric field that can penetrate to the ionosphere and cause the DP 2 current system. The quasiperiodic DP 2 current system, which fluctuates coherently with fluctuations of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz, penetrates nearly instantaneously to the dayside equatorial region at all longitudes and modulates the electrodynamics that governs the equatorial density distributions. In this paper, using magnetometers at high and equatorial latitudes, we demonstrate that the quasiperiodic DP 2 current system penetrates to the equator and causes the dayside equatorial electrojet (EEJ) and the independently measured ionospheric drift velocity to fluctuate coherently with the high‐latitude DP 2 current as well as with the IMF Bz component. At the same time, radar observations show that the ionospheric density layers move up and down, causing the density to fluctuate up and down coherently with the EEJ and IMF Bz.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 25, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1002/2016gl070090
Entities
People
- A. B. Rabiu
- C. M. Biouele
- E. R. de Paula
- E. Zesta
- Endawoke Yizengaw
- M. B. Moldwin
- M. Magoun
- O. K. Obrou
- R. Pradipta
- Z. Bamba
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Boston College
- Félix Houphouët Boigny University
- Goddard Space Flight Center
- National Institute for Space Research
- National Space Research and Development Agency
- University of Michigan
- Université de Yaoundé I