Browsing by Author "Sassi, F."
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Item Restricted Ionosphere variability during the 2009 SSW: Influence of the lunar semidiurnal tide and mechanisms producing electron density variability(American Geophysical Union, 2014-04-23) Pedatella, N. M.; Liu, H. -L.; Sassi, F.; Lei, J.; Chau Chong Shing, Jorge Luis; Zhang, X.To investigate ionosphere variability during the 2009 sudden stratosphere warming (SSW), we present simulation results that combine the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model Extended version and the thermosphere-ionosphere-mesosphere electrodynamics general circulation model (TIME-GCM). The simulations reveal notable enhancements in both the migrating semidiurnal solar (SW2) and lunar (M2) tides during the SSW. The SW2 and M2 amplitudes reach ∼50 m s−1 and ∼40 m s−1, respectively, in zonal wind at E region altitudes. The dramatic increase in the M2 at these altitudes influences the dynamo generation of electric fields, and the importance of the M2 on the ionosphere variability during the 2009 SSW is demonstrated by comparing simulations with and without the M2. TIME-GCM simulations that incorporate the M2 are found to be in good agreement with Jicamarca Incoherent Scatter Radar vertical plasma drifts and Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) observations of the maximum F region electron density. The agreement with observations is worse if the M2 is not included in the simulation, demonstrating that the lunar tide is an important contributor to the ionosphere variability during the 2009 SSW. We additionally investigate sources of the F region electron density variability during the SSW. The primary driver of the electron density variability is changes in electric fields. Changes in meridional neutral winds and thermosphere composition are found to also contribute to the electron density variability during the 2009 SSW. The electron density variability for the 2009 SSW is therefore not solely due to variability in electric fields as previously thought.Item Restricted Multimodel comparison of the ionosphere variability during the 2009 sudden stratosphere warming(American Geophysical Union, 2016-07-18) Pedatella, N. M.; Fang, T.-W.; Jin, H.; Sassi, F.; Schmidt, H.; Chau Chong Shing, Jorge Luis; Siddiqui, T. A.; Goncharenko, L.A comparison of different model simulations of the ionosphere variability during the 2009 sudden stratosphere warming (SSW) is presented. The focus is on the equatorial and low‐latitude ionosphere simulated by the Ground‐to‐topside model of the Atmosphere and Ionosphere for Aeronomy (GAIA), Whole Atmosphere Model plus Global Ionosphere Plasmasphere (WAM+GIP), and Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model eXtended version plus Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Mesosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (WACCMX+TIMEGCM). The simulations are compared with observations of the equatorial vertical plasma drift in the American and Indian longitude sectors, zonal mean F region peak density (NmF2) from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) satellites, and ground‐based Global Positioning System (GPS) total electron content (TEC) at 75°W. The model simulations all reproduce the observed morning enhancement and afternoon decrease in the vertical plasma drift, as well as the progression of the anomalies toward later local times over the course of several days. However, notable discrepancies among the simulations are seen in terms of the magnitude of the drift perturbations, and rate of the local time shift. Comparison of the electron densities further reveals that although many of the broad features of the ionosphere variability are captured by the simulations, there are significant differences among the different model simulations, as well as between the simulations and observations. Additional simulations are performed where the neutral atmospheres from four different whole atmosphere models (GAIA, HAMMONIA (Hamburg Model of the Neutral and Ionized Atmosphere), WAM, and WACCMX) provide the lower atmospheric forcing in the TIME‐GCM. These simulations demonstrate that different neutral atmospheres, in particular, differences in the solar migrating semidiurnal tide, are partly responsible for the differences in the simulated ionosphere variability in GAIA, WAM+GIP, and WACCMX+TIMEGCM.Item Restricted SAMI3/SD‐WACCM‐X simulations of ionospheric variability during northern winter 2009(American Geophysical Union, 2015-08-07) McDonald, S. E.; Sassi, F.; Mannucci, A. J.We have performed simulations using the Naval Research Laboratory's physics‐based model of the ionosphere, Sami3 is A Model of the Ionosphere (SAMI3), to illustrate how neutral wind dynamics is responsible for day‐to‐day variability of the ionosphere. We have used neutral winds specified from the extended version of the specified dynamics Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (SD‐WACCM‐X), in which meteorology below 92 km is constrained by atmospheric specifications from an operational weather forecast model and reanalysis. To assess the realism of the simulations against observations, we have carried out a case study during January–February 2009, a dynamically disturbed time characterized by a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) commencing 24 January 2009. Model results are compared with total electron content (TEC) from Jet Propulsion Laboratory global ionospheric maps. We show that SAMI3/SD‐WACCM‐X captures longitudinal variability in the equatorial ionization anomaly associated with nonmigrating tides, with strongest contributions coming from the diurnal eastward wave number 2 (DE2) and DE3. Both migrating and nonmigrating tides contribute to significant day‐to‐day variability, with TEC varying up to 16%. Our simulation during the SSW period reveals that at the Jicamarca longitude (285°E) on 27 January 2009 nonmigrating tides contribute to an enhancement of the electron density in the morning followed by a decrease in the afternoon. An enhancement of the semidiurnal eastward wave number 2 (SE2) and SE3 nonmigrating tides, likely associated with the appearance of the SSW, suggests that these tides increase the longitudinal variability of the SSW impact on the ionosphere. The conclusion is that realistic meteorology propagating upward from the lower atmosphere influences the dynamo region and reproduces aspects of the observed variability in the ionosphere.