{"title":"On the Short-Range Longitudinal Variation of Pre-Reversal Enhancement of Vertical Plasma Drift and Associated Implications","authors":"A. K. Patra, K. K. Ajith, Septi Perwitasari","doi":"10.1029/2024JA033124","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Pre-reversal enhancement of vertical plasma drift (PRE) is a unique feature of the equatorial ionosphere and plays an important role in defining the state and stability of the evening ionosphere. In this paper, we investigate short-range longitudinal variations of PRE and its consequence on the longitudinal configuration of the equatorial bottomside F layer and the equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) phenomenon. We use simultaneous observations made using three longitudinally separated ionosondes located close to the magnetic equator and spread over a longitude zone of 24° in the Asian sector to study longitudinal variations in the vertical plasma drift, <i>V</i><sub><i>z</i></sub> and the height of the F layer base. The peak <i>V</i><sub><i>z</i></sub> as well as the temporal pattern of <i>V</i><sub><i>z</i></sub> show large longitudinal variations and the maximum difference in the peak <i>V</i><sub><i>z</i></sub> between two stations is found to be in the range of 29–49 m s<sup>−1</sup>, which is remarkable. The large longitudinal difference in <i>V</i><sub><i>z</i></sub> is attributed to localized polarization process, which acts additively to the large-scale PRE process. The longitudinal variation in <i>V</i><sub><i>z</i></sub> could result in both positive and negative tilt of the F layer base, which is shown to have a considerable role on the growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for the formation of EPB. The plausible origins of longitudinal variation in PRE and its consequences are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":15894,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics","volume":"130 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JA033124","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Pre-reversal enhancement of vertical plasma drift (PRE) is a unique feature of the equatorial ionosphere and plays an important role in defining the state and stability of the evening ionosphere. In this paper, we investigate short-range longitudinal variations of PRE and its consequence on the longitudinal configuration of the equatorial bottomside F layer and the equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) phenomenon. We use simultaneous observations made using three longitudinally separated ionosondes located close to the magnetic equator and spread over a longitude zone of 24° in the Asian sector to study longitudinal variations in the vertical plasma drift, Vz and the height of the F layer base. The peak Vz as well as the temporal pattern of Vz show large longitudinal variations and the maximum difference in the peak Vz between two stations is found to be in the range of 29–49 m s−1, which is remarkable. The large longitudinal difference in Vz is attributed to localized polarization process, which acts additively to the large-scale PRE process. The longitudinal variation in Vz could result in both positive and negative tilt of the F layer base, which is shown to have a considerable role on the growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability for the formation of EPB. The plausible origins of longitudinal variation in PRE and its consequences are discussed.
垂直等离子漂移的逆转前增强(PRE)是赤道电离层的一个独特特征,在确定晚间电离层的状态和稳定性方面发挥着重要作用。在本文中,我们研究了 PRE 的短程纵向变化及其对赤道底侧 F 层纵向配置和赤道等离子气泡(EPB)现象的影响。我们利用位于磁赤道附近、分布在亚洲扇区 24° 经度范围内的三个纵向分离的电离层探测仪进行同步观测,研究了垂直等离子体漂移、Vz 和 F 层底部高度的纵向变化。峰值 Vz 和 Vz 的时间模式显示出很大的纵向变化,两个站点之间峰值 Vz 的最大差异在 29-49 m s-1 之间,这是非常显著的。Vz 的巨大纵向差异归因于局部极化过程,该过程与大尺度 PRE 过程相加。Vz 的纵向变化可能导致 F 层基底的正负倾斜,这对形成 EPB 的雷利-泰勒不稳定性的增长有相当大的作用。本文讨论了 PRE 纵向变化的可能起源及其后果。