Magnetospheric control of ionospheric TEC perturbations via whistler-mode and ULF waves

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Auteurs principaux: Shen, Yangyang, Verkhoglyadova, Olga P., Artemyev, Anton, Hartinger, Michael D., Angelopoulos, Vassilis, Shi, Xueling, Zou, Ying
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Shen, Yangyang
Verkhoglyadova, Olga P.
Artemyev, Anton
Hartinger, Michael D.
Angelopoulos, Vassilis
Shi, Xueling
Zou, Ying
author_facet Shen, Yangyang
Verkhoglyadova, Olga P.
Artemyev, Anton
Hartinger, Michael D.
Angelopoulos, Vassilis
Shi, Xueling
Zou, Ying
contents The weakly ionized plasma in the Earth's ionosphere is controlled by a complex interplay between solar and magnetospheric inputs from above, atmospheric processes from below, and plasma electrodynamics from within. This interaction results in ionosphere structuring and variability that pose major challenges for accurate ionosphere prediction for global navigation satellite system (GNSS) related applications and space weather research. The ionospheric structuring and variability are often probed using the total electron content (TEC) and its relative perturbations (dTEC). Among dTEC variations observed at high latitudes, a unique modulation pattern has been linked to magnetospheric ultra low frequency (ULF) waves, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here using magnetically-conjugate observations from the THEMIS spacecraft and a ground-based GPS receiver at Fairbanks, Alaska, we provide direct evidence that these dTEC modulations are driven by magnetospheric electron precipitation induced by ULF-modulated whistler-mode waves. We observed peak-to-peak dTEC amplitudes reaching ~0.5 TECU (1 TECU is equal to 10$^6$ electrons/m$^2$) with modulations spanning scales of ~5--100 km. The cross-correlation between our modeled and observed dTEC reached ~0.8 during the conjugacy period but decreased outside of it. The spectra of whistler-mode waves and dTEC also matched closely at ULF frequencies during the conjugacy period but diverged outside of it. Our findings elucidate the high-latitude dTEC generation from magnetospheric wave-induced precipitation, addressing a significant gap in current physics-based dTEC modeling. Theses results thus improve ionospheric dTEC prediction and enhance our understanding of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling via ULF waves.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_05168
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Magnetospheric control of ionospheric TEC perturbations via whistler-mode and ULF waves
Shen, Yangyang
Verkhoglyadova, Olga P.
Artemyev, Anton
Hartinger, Michael D.
Angelopoulos, Vassilis
Shi, Xueling
Zou, Ying
Space Physics
The weakly ionized plasma in the Earth's ionosphere is controlled by a complex interplay between solar and magnetospheric inputs from above, atmospheric processes from below, and plasma electrodynamics from within. This interaction results in ionosphere structuring and variability that pose major challenges for accurate ionosphere prediction for global navigation satellite system (GNSS) related applications and space weather research. The ionospheric structuring and variability are often probed using the total electron content (TEC) and its relative perturbations (dTEC). Among dTEC variations observed at high latitudes, a unique modulation pattern has been linked to magnetospheric ultra low frequency (ULF) waves, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here using magnetically-conjugate observations from the THEMIS spacecraft and a ground-based GPS receiver at Fairbanks, Alaska, we provide direct evidence that these dTEC modulations are driven by magnetospheric electron precipitation induced by ULF-modulated whistler-mode waves. We observed peak-to-peak dTEC amplitudes reaching ~0.5 TECU (1 TECU is equal to 10$^6$ electrons/m$^2$) with modulations spanning scales of ~5--100 km. The cross-correlation between our modeled and observed dTEC reached ~0.8 during the conjugacy period but decreased outside of it. The spectra of whistler-mode waves and dTEC also matched closely at ULF frequencies during the conjugacy period but diverged outside of it. Our findings elucidate the high-latitude dTEC generation from magnetospheric wave-induced precipitation, addressing a significant gap in current physics-based dTEC modeling. Theses results thus improve ionospheric dTEC prediction and enhance our understanding of magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling via ULF waves.
title Magnetospheric control of ionospheric TEC perturbations via whistler-mode and ULF waves
topic Space Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.05168