Evaluation of Atmospheric 3‐Day Waves as a Source of Day‐to‐Day Variation of the Ionospheric Longitudinal Structure
Guiping Liu, S. England, C. S. Lin, N. M. Pedatella, J. Klenzing, Christoph R. Englert, Brian J. Harding, T. J. Immel, D. E. Rowland
Abstract
Abstract We report for the first time the day‐to‐day variation of the longitudinal structure in height of the F 2 layer (h m F 2 ) in the equatorial ionosphere using multi‐satellite observations of electron density profiles by the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate‐2 (COSMIC‐2). These observations reveal a ∼3‐day modulation of the h m F 2 wavenumber‐4 structure viewed in a fixed local time frame during January 30–February 14, 2021. Simultaneously, ∼3‐day planetary wave activity is discerned from zonal wind observations at ∼100 km by the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) Michelson Interferometer for Global High‐Resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI). This signature is not observed at ∼180–250 km altitudes, suggesting the dissipation of this wave below the F‐region. We propose that the 3‐day variation identified in h m F 2 is likely caused by the planetary wave‐tide interaction through the E‐region dynamo.