Regulation of ionospheric plasma velocities by thermospheric winds.

ABSTRACT: Earth's equatorial ionosphere exhibits substantial and unpredictable day-to-day variations in density and morphology. This presents challenges in preparing for adverse impacts on geopositioning systems and radio communications even 24 hours in advance. The variability is now theoretically understood as a manifestation of thermospheric weather, where winds in the upper atmosphere respond strongly to a spectrum of atmospheric waves that propagate into space from the lower and middle atmosphere. First-principles simulations predict related, large changes in the ionosphere, primarily through modification of wind-driven electromotive forces: the wind-driven dynamo. Here we show the first direct evidence of the action of a wind dynamo in space, using the coordinated, space-based observations of

SUBMITTER: Immel TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8740692 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature