Statistical study of low-latitude E-region irregularity occurrence rate based on Qujing VHF radar observations

IF 1.8 4区地球科学 Q3 GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics Pub Date : 2025-02-19 DOI:10.1016/j.jastp.2025.106479

Yunzhou Zhu , Qiong Tang , Zhongxin Deng , Chen Zhou , Tong Xu , Yi Liu , Zhengyu Zhao , Fengsi Wei

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Based on the Quing VHF radar (25.6°N, 103.7°E, magnetic latitude 16.1°N, magnetic longitude 177.0°E) measurements from 2016 to 2020, the morphological characteristic of low-latitude E-region field-aligned irregularities (FAIs) was reported in this work. Statistical results show that the occurrence of Qujing E-region irregularities highly depends on both season and local time. The occurrence rate of E-region FAIs peaks in the summer, with the lowest occurrence rates in autumn and winter, and primarily occurs at night. The Doppler spectrum suggests that the Qujing E-region FAI echoes are mainly characterized by type II echoes. Quantitative analysis of both the activity of the Es layer and E-region FAI structures was also conducted. It is found that the occurrence of low-latitude E-region FAIs is closely correlated with the enhanced electron density structures inherent in the local Es layers. Given the weak electric field at low and mid-latitudes, neutral winds controlling ion drift likely trigger gradient drift instability above the Es layer, leading to small-scale irregularities in Qujing. Further investigation is required to understand the influence of the medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance on the occurrence rate of ionosphere E-region FAIs in low latitudes.

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来源期刊

Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics 地学-地球化学与地球物理

CiteScore

4.10

自引率

5.30%

发文量

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： The Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics (JASTP) is an international journal concerned with the inter-disciplinary science of the Earth''s atmospheric and space environment, especially the highly varied and highly variable physical phenomena that occur in this natural laboratory and the processes that couple them. The journal covers the physical processes operating in the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere, magnetosphere, the Sun, interplanetary medium, and heliosphere. Phenomena occurring in other "spheres", solar influences on climate, and supporting laboratory measurements are also considered. The journal deals especially with the coupling between the different regions. Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other energetic events on the Sun create interesting and important perturbations in the near-Earth space environment. The physics of such "space weather" is central to the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics and the journal welcomes papers that lead in the direction of a predictive understanding of the coupled system. Regarding the upper atmosphere, the subjects of aeronomy, geomagnetism and geoelectricity, auroral phenomena, radio wave propagation, and plasma instabilities, are examples within the broad field of solar-terrestrial physics which emphasise the energy exchange between the solar wind, the magnetospheric and ionospheric plasmas, and the neutral gas. In the lower atmosphere, topics covered range from mesoscale to global scale dynamics, to atmospheric electricity, lightning and its effects, and to anthropogenic changes.