Browsing by Author "Yizengaw, E."
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Item Restricted Causes of the longitudinal differences in the equatorial vertical E × B drift during the 2013 SSW period as simulated by the TIME‐GCM(American Geophysical Union, 2015-05-22) Maute, A.; Hagan, M. E.; Yudin, V.; Liu, H. L.; Yizengaw, E.During stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) periods large changes in the low‐latitude vertical drift have been observed at Jicamarca as well as in other longitudinal sectors. In general, a strengthening of the daytime maximum vertical drift with a shift from prenoon to the afternoon is observed. During the January 2013 stratospheric warming significant longitudinal differences in the equatorial vertical drift were observed. At Jicamarca the previously reported SSW behavior prevails; however, no shift of the daytime maximum drift was exhibited in the African sector. Using the National Center for Atmospheric Research thermosphere‐ionosphere‐mesosphere electrodynamics general circulation model (TIME‐GCM) the possible causes for the longitudinal difference are examined. The timing of the strong SSW effect in the vertical drift (15–20 January) coincides with moderate geomagnetic activity. The simulation indicates that approximately half of the daytime vertical drift increase in the American sector may be related to the moderate geophysical conditions (Kp = 4) with the effect being negligible in the African sector. The simulation suggests that the wind dynamo accounts for approximately 50% of the daytime vertical drift in the American sector and almost 100% in the African sector. The simulation agrees with previous findings that the migrating solar tides and the semidiurnal westward propagating tide with zonal wave number 1 (SW1) mainly contribute to the daytime wind dynamo and vertical drift. Numerical experiments suggest that the neutral wind and the geomagnetic main field contribute to the presence (absence) of a local time shift in the daytime maximum drift in the American (African) sector.Item Restricted Comparison of storm time equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics in the African and American sectors(Elsevier, 2010-08-12) Yizengaw, E.; Moldwin, M. B.; Mebrahtu, A.; Damtie, B.; Zesta, E.; Valladares, C. E.; Doherty, P.The characteristics of storm time (corotating interaction regions (CIR)-driven storm that happened on 9 August 2008) equatorial electrojet (EEJ) phenomena and their effect on the ionospheric density structure at two different longitudinal sectors are presented. Equatorial magnetometer data, occultation density profiles from COSMIC and CHAMP LEO satellites, and ground-based GPS TEC are used. We find unusual density reduction around local noon at the same time when we observe the reversal of electrojet current and thus counter-equatorial electrojet (CEJ) signatures. The continuous energy deposition in to high latitudes due to the CIR-driven storm that triggers the E-region dynamo and the penetrating magnetospheric origin electric field is suggested to be responsible for the reversal of equatorial electrojet current flows. We also compare the magnitude and direction of the driving force (E×B drift) in the American and African sectors for the first time. It was found that at the same local time the E×B drift in the American sector is stronger than that of the African sector. Previously, the uneven distribution of ground-based instruments hindered our ability to obtain a global understanding of the dynamics and structure of the ionosphere. The newly deployed ground-based instruments, primarily in the African sector, provide the opportunity to observe the governing equatorial electrodynamics simultaneously with the ionospheric density structures detected by the instrument onboard low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites. To our knowledge this is the first simultaneous observation performed in the African sector. This case study may provide additional input that could be used to explain the unique density irregularities that are often seen from in situ satellite observation in the African sector, a region that has been devoid of ground-based instrumentations.Item Restricted Global equatorial plasma bubble occurrence during the 2015 St. Patrick's Day storm(American Geophysical Union, 2016-01-18) Carter, B. A.; Yizengaw, E.; Pradipta, R.; Retterer, J. M.; Groves, K.; Valladares, C.; Caton, R.; Bridgwood, C.; Norman, R.; Zhang, K.An analysis of the occurrence of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) around the world during the 2015 St. Patrick's Day geomagnetic storm is presented. A network of 12 Global Positioning System receivers spanning from South America to Southeast Asia was used, in addition to colocated VHF receivers at three stations and four nearby ionosondes. The suppression of postsunset EPBs was observed across most longitudes over 2 days. The EPB observations were compared to calculations of the linear Rayleigh‐Taylor growth rate using coupled thermosphere‐ionosphere modeling, which successfully modeled the transition of favorable EPB growth from postsunset to postmidnight hours during the storm. The mechanisms behind the growth of postmidnight EPBs during this storm were investigated. While the latter stages of postmidnight EPB growth were found to be dominated by disturbance dynamo effects, the initial stages of postmidnight EPB growth close to local midnight were found to be controlled by the higher altitudes of the plasma (i.e., the gravity term). Modeling and observations revealed that during the storm the ionospheric plasma was redistributed to higher altitudes in the low‐latitude region, which made the plasma more susceptible to Rayleigh‐Taylor growth prior to the dominance of the disturbance dynamo in the eventual generation of postmidnight EPBs.Item Restricted Longitudinal differences of ionospheric vertical density distribution and equatorial electrodynamics(American Geophysical Union, 2012-07-19) Yizengaw, E.; Zesta, E.; Moldwin, M. B.; Damtie, B.; Mebrahtu, A.; Valladares, C. E.; Pfaff, R. F.Accurate estimation of global vertical distribution of ionospheric and plasmaspheric density as a function of local time, season, and magnetic activity is required to improve the operation of space‐based navigation and communication systems. The vertical density distribution, especially at low and equatorial latitudes, is governed by the equatorial electrodynamics that produces a vertical driving force. The vertical structure of the equatorial density distribution can be observed by using tomographic reconstruction techniques on ground‐based global positioning system (GPS) total electron content (TEC). Similarly, the vertical drift, which is one of the driving mechanisms that govern equatorial electrodynamics and strongly affect the structure and dynamics of the ionosphere in the low/midlatitude region, can be estimated using ground magnetometer observations. We present tomographically reconstructed density distribution and the corresponding vertical drifts at two different longitudes: the East African and west South American sectors. Chains of GPS stations in the east African and west South American longitudinal sectors, covering the equatorial anomaly region of meridian ∼37°E and 290°E, respectively, are used to reconstruct the vertical density distribution. Similarly, magnetometer sites of African Meridian B‐field Education and Research (AMBER) and INTERMAGNET for the east African sector and South American Meridional B‐field Array (SAMBA) and Low Latitude Ionospheric Sensor Network (LISN) are used to estimate the vertical drift velocity at two distinct longitudes. The comparison between the reconstructed and Jicamarca Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) measured density profiles shows excellent agreement, demonstrating the usefulness of tomographic reconstruction technique in providing the vertical density distribution at different longitudes. Similarly, the comparison between magnetometer estimated vertical drift and other independent drift observation, such as from VEFI onboard Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite and JULIA radar, is equally promising. The observations at different longitudes suggest that the vertical drift velocities and the vertical density distribution have significant longitudinal differences; especially the equatorial anomaly peaks expand to higher latitudes more in American sector than the African sector, indicating that the vertical drift in the American sector is stronger than the African sector.Item Restricted Response of the equatorial ionosphere to the geomagnetic DP 2 current system(American Geophysical Union, 2016-07-12) Yizengaw, E.; Moldwin, M. B.; Zesta, E.; Magoun, M.; Pradipta, R.; Biouele, C. M.; Rabiu, A. B.; Obrou, O. K.; Bamba, Z.; Paula, E. R. deThe 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.Item Restricted The longitudinal variability of equatorial electrojet and vertical drift velocity in the African and American sectors(European Geosciences Union (EGU), 2014-03-13) Yizengaw, E.; Moldwin, M. B.; Zesta, E.; Biouele, C. M.; Damtie, B.; Mebrahtu, A.; Rabiu, B.; Valladares, C. F.; Stoneback, R.While the formation of equatorial electrojet (EEJ) and its temporal variation is believed to be fairly well understood, the longitudinal variability at all local times is still unknown. This paper presents a case and statistical study of the longitudinal variability of dayside EEJ for all local times using ground-based observations. We found EEJ is stronger in the west American sector and decreases from west to east longitudinal sectors. We also confirm the presence of significant longitudinal difference in the dusk sector pre-reversal drift, using the ion velocity meter (IVM) instrument onboard the C/NOFS satellite, with stronger pre-reversal drift in the west American sector compared to the African sector. Previous satellite observations have shown that the African sector is home to stronger and year-round ionospheric bubbles/irregularities compared to the American and Asian sectors. This study’s results raises the question if the vertical drift, which is believed to be the main cause for the enhancement of Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability growth rate, is stronger in the American sector and weaker in the African sector – why are the occurrence and amplitude of equatorial irregularities stronger in the African sector?