A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere
The electron temperature (<i>T</i>e) behavior at small scales (both spatial and temporal) in the topside ionosphere is investigated through in situ observations collected by Langmuir Probes on-board the European Space Agency Swarm satellites from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2020....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Universe |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/7/8/290 |
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| author | Alessio Pignalberi Igino Coco Fabio Giannattasio Michael Pezzopane Paola De Michelis Giuseppe Consolini Roberta Tozzi |
| author_facet | Alessio Pignalberi Igino Coco Fabio Giannattasio Michael Pezzopane Paola De Michelis Giuseppe Consolini Roberta Tozzi |
| author_sort | Alessio Pignalberi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The electron temperature (<i>T</i>e) behavior at small scales (both spatial and temporal) in the topside ionosphere is investigated through in situ observations collected by Langmuir Probes on-board the European Space Agency Swarm satellites from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2020. <i>T</i>e observations are employed to calculate the Rate Of change of electron TEmperature Index (ROTEI), which represents the standard deviation of the <i>T</i>e time derivative calculated over a window of fixed width. As a consequence, ROTEI provides a description of the small-scale variations of <i>T</i>e along the Swarm satellites orbit. The extension of the dataset and the orbital configuration of the Swarm satellites allowed us to perform a statistical analysis of ROTEI to unveil its mean spatial, diurnal, seasonal, and solar activity variations. The main ROTEI statistical trends are presented and discussed in the light of the current knowledge of the phenomena affecting the distribution and dynamics of the ionospheric plasma, which play a key role in triggering <i>T</i>e small-scale variations. The appearance of unexpected high values of ROTEI at mid and low latitudes for specific magnetic local time sectors is revealed and discussed in association with the presence of <i>T</i>e spikes recorded by Swarm satellites under very specific conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:19:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-08e160731b114435bac7d6f23d5d25c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-1997 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:19:10Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Universe |
| spelling | doaj.art-08e160731b114435bac7d6f23d5d25c02023-11-22T10:05:46ZengMDPI AGUniverse2218-19972021-08-017829010.3390/universe7080290A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside IonosphereAlessio Pignalberi0Igino Coco1Fabio Giannattasio2Michael Pezzopane3Paola De Michelis4Giuseppe Consolini5Roberta Tozzi6Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyINAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyThe electron temperature (<i>T</i>e) behavior at small scales (both spatial and temporal) in the topside ionosphere is investigated through in situ observations collected by Langmuir Probes on-board the European Space Agency Swarm satellites from the beginning of 2014 to the end of 2020. <i>T</i>e observations are employed to calculate the Rate Of change of electron TEmperature Index (ROTEI), which represents the standard deviation of the <i>T</i>e time derivative calculated over a window of fixed width. As a consequence, ROTEI provides a description of the small-scale variations of <i>T</i>e along the Swarm satellites orbit. The extension of the dataset and the orbital configuration of the Swarm satellites allowed us to perform a statistical analysis of ROTEI to unveil its mean spatial, diurnal, seasonal, and solar activity variations. The main ROTEI statistical trends are presented and discussed in the light of the current knowledge of the phenomena affecting the distribution and dynamics of the ionospheric plasma, which play a key role in triggering <i>T</i>e small-scale variations. The appearance of unexpected high values of ROTEI at mid and low latitudes for specific magnetic local time sectors is revealed and discussed in association with the presence of <i>T</i>e spikes recorded by Swarm satellites under very specific conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/7/8/290ROTEIelectron temperaturetopside ionosphereESA Swarm satellitesLangmuir Probes in situ datasmall-scale variations |
| spellingShingle | Alessio Pignalberi Igino Coco Fabio Giannattasio Michael Pezzopane Paola De Michelis Giuseppe Consolini Roberta Tozzi A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere Universe ROTEI electron temperature topside ionosphere ESA Swarm satellites Langmuir Probes in situ data small-scale variations |
| title | A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere |
| title_full | A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere |
| title_fullStr | A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere |
| title_short | A New Ionospheric Index to Investigate Electron Temperature Small-Scale Variations in the Topside Ionosphere |
| title_sort | new ionospheric index to investigate electron temperature small scale variations in the topside ionosphere |
| topic | ROTEI electron temperature topside ionosphere ESA Swarm satellites Langmuir Probes in situ data small-scale variations |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1997/7/8/290 |
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