HR: 1330h
AN: SM32B-1160    [PDF]
TI: Variability in the Mesosphere/Thermosphere/Ionosphere System During the Quiet Time of April 2002
AU: * Goncharenko, L P
EM: lpg@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Off Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AU: Salah, J
EM: jsalah@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Off Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AU: Coster, A
EM: ajc@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Off Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AU: Rideout, W
EM: brideout@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Off Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AU: Zhang, S R
EM: shunrong@haystack.mit.edu
AF: MIT Haystack Observatory, Off Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 United States
AU: Paxton, L
EM: larry.paxton@jhuapl.edu
AF: John Hopkins University, APL, 11100 John Hopkins Rd., Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Zhang, Y
EM: yongliang.zhang@jhuapl.edu
AF: John Hopkins University, APL, 11100 John Hopkins Rd., Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Crowley, G
EM: gcrowley@swri.edu
AF: Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, TX 78228 United States
AU: Taran, V
EM: iion@kpi.kharkov.ua
AF: Institute for Ionosphere, 16 Chervonopraporna Str, Kharkiv, 61002 Ukraine
AU: Reinisch, B
EM: Bodo_Reinisch@uml.edu
AF: University of Massachusetts Lowell, 600 Suffolk Street, Lowell, MA 01854 United States
AU: Clark, R
EM: ron.clark@unh.edu
AF: University of New Hampshire, Kingsbury, Durham, NH 03824 United States
AU: Manson, A
EM: manson@dansas.usask.ca
AF: University of Saskatchewan, 116 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2 Canada
AU: Mitchell, N
EM: N.J.Mitchell@bath.ac.uk
AF: University of Bath, Department of Electronic Electrical Engin., Bath, BA2 7AY United Kingdom
AU: Murayama, Y
EM: murayama@crl.go.jp
AF: Communications Research Lab., 4-2-1, Nukui-kita, Tokyo, 184-8795 Japan
AU: Riggin, D
EM: riggin@colorado-research.com
AF: Colorado Research Assoc. Inc., 3380 Mitchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301 United States
AU: Singer, W
EM: singer@iap-kborn.de
AF: Rostock University, Schloss Str. 6, Kuhlungsborn, 18225 Germany
AB: We investigate the structure of the global mesosphere-thermosphere-ionosphere system using multi-instrument observations during the April 2002 period, with focus on geomagnetically quiet periods. Large variations in electron density were observed at midlatitudes by the array of incoherent scatter radars, ionosondes and GPS receivers. On April 16, 2002, electron density decreases to ~50-70% of the level observed on Apr 15, 2002. This depletion far exceeds commonly observed 10-20% quiet-time variations. At the same time, the observations from the array of MF and meteor radars show global presence of planetary wave disturbances, and a westward offset in the zonal wind of 15 m/s was noticed at locations coincident with the area of large variations in the electron density. We find that variations in ionospheric parameters have a strong relationship with neutral density, and show that an extensive area of depleted electron density as observed by GPS receivers, ISR radars and ionosondes is coincident with the area of large decrease in the column integrated O/N2 ratio measured by the GUVI instrument on board of TIMED satellite. Similar variations are also predicted by the TIMEGCM/ASPEN model in both O/N2 ratio and electron density, though the magnitude of the variations in the model is significantly smaller.
DE: 2427 Ionosphere/atmosphere interactions (0335)
DE: 2443 Midlatitude ionosphere
SC: SPA - Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting