Case studies of coupling between the E and F regions during unstable sporadic‐E conditions

Citations Over TimeTop 15% of 2003 papers

Abstract

Simultaneous F ‐region airglow, E ‐region coherent‐scatter radar, and ionosonde observations were made in Greece during the summer sporadic‐ E season in 2002. In this paper we report on two case studies during which patchy sporadic‐ E layers were accompanied by midlatitude spread F , coherent VHF radar echoes (including two‐stream echoes), and traveling ionospheric disturbances registered by the airglow instrument. We argue that these events give strong evidence that polarization electric fields are built up in the E region and are mapped upward to the F region, creating rising and falling regions in the bottomside plasma. The resulting structure creates conditions for midlatitude spread F , as detected by the ionosonde. This correlation between patchy sporadic E and midlatitude spread F is further supported in a companion paper. Upward coupling of this sort is particularly efficient in regions of F ‐region plasma uplift and airglow depletion, since the F ‐region Pedersen conductivity is low which reduces the electrical load on the E ‐region generator.

Related Papers

• → Statistical study of nighttime medium‐scale traveling ionospheric disturbances using midlatitude airglow images(2003)299 cited
• → Case studies of coupling between the E and F regions during unstable sporadic‐E conditions(2003)75 cited
• → Statistical Study on the Occurrences of Postsunset Ionospheric E, Valley, and F Region Irregularities and Their Correlations Over Low‐Latitude Sanya(2018)8 cited
• → Airborne studies of equatorial F layer ionospheric irregularities(1980)92 cited
• → A statistical study of midlatitude spread F at Wallops Island, Virginia(2009)28 cited