Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance
In the current study, we investigated the mechanism of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID) triggering spread-F in the low latitude ionosphere using ionosonde observation and Global Navigation Satellite System-Total Electron Content (GNSS-TEC) measurement. We use a series of morpho...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/5/945 |
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| author | Zhongxin Deng Rui Wang Yi Liu Tong Xu Zhuangkai Wang Guanyi Chen Qiong Tang Zhengwen Xu Chen Zhou |
| author_facet | Zhongxin Deng Rui Wang Yi Liu Tong Xu Zhuangkai Wang Guanyi Chen Qiong Tang Zhengwen Xu Chen Zhou |
| author_sort | Zhongxin Deng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the current study, we investigated the mechanism of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID) triggering spread-F in the low latitude ionosphere using ionosonde observation and Global Navigation Satellite System-Total Electron Content (GNSS-TEC) measurement. We use a series of morphological processing techniques applied to ionograms to retrieve the O-wave traces automatically. The maximum entropy method (MEM) was also utilized to obtain the propagation parameters of MSTID. Although it is widely acknowledged that MSTID is normally accompanied by polarization electric fields which can trigger Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability and consequently excite spread-F, our statistical analysis of 13 months of MSTID and spread-F occurrence showed that there is an inverse seasonal occurrence rate between MSTID and spread-F. Thus, we assert that only MSTID with certain properties can trigger spread-F occurrence. We also note that the MSTID at night has a high possibility to trigger spread-F. We assume that this tendency is consistent with the fact that the polarization electric field caused by MSTID is generally the main source of post-midnight F-layer instability. Moreover, after thorough investigation over the azimuth, phase speed, main frequency, and wave number over the South America region, we found that the spread-F has a tendency to be triggered by nighttime MSTID, which is generally characterized by larger ΔTEC amplitudes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:43:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-347178fc6bb440e3b52ffe137d2f9da0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T05:43:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-347178fc6bb440e3b52ffe137d2f9da02023-12-03T12:22:23ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-03-0113594510.3390/rs13050945Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric DisturbanceZhongxin Deng0Rui Wang1Yi Liu2Tong Xu3Zhuangkai Wang4Guanyi Chen5Qiong Tang6Zhengwen Xu7Chen Zhou8National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment, China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation, Qingdao 266107, ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment, China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation, Qingdao 266107, ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment, China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation, Qingdao 266107, ChinaDepartment of Space Physics, School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, ChinaIn the current study, we investigated the mechanism of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID) triggering spread-F in the low latitude ionosphere using ionosonde observation and Global Navigation Satellite System-Total Electron Content (GNSS-TEC) measurement. We use a series of morphological processing techniques applied to ionograms to retrieve the O-wave traces automatically. The maximum entropy method (MEM) was also utilized to obtain the propagation parameters of MSTID. Although it is widely acknowledged that MSTID is normally accompanied by polarization electric fields which can trigger Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) instability and consequently excite spread-F, our statistical analysis of 13 months of MSTID and spread-F occurrence showed that there is an inverse seasonal occurrence rate between MSTID and spread-F. Thus, we assert that only MSTID with certain properties can trigger spread-F occurrence. We also note that the MSTID at night has a high possibility to trigger spread-F. We assume that this tendency is consistent with the fact that the polarization electric field caused by MSTID is generally the main source of post-midnight F-layer instability. Moreover, after thorough investigation over the azimuth, phase speed, main frequency, and wave number over the South America region, we found that the spread-F has a tendency to be triggered by nighttime MSTID, which is generally characterized by larger ΔTEC amplitudes.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/5/945spread-FMSTIDpolarized electric field |
| spellingShingle | Zhongxin Deng Rui Wang Yi Liu Tong Xu Zhuangkai Wang Guanyi Chen Qiong Tang Zhengwen Xu Chen Zhou Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance Remote Sensing spread-F MSTID polarized electric field |
| title | Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance |
| title_full | Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance |
| title_fullStr | Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance |
| title_short | Investigation of Low Latitude Spread-F Triggered by Nighttime Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance |
| title_sort | investigation of low latitude spread f triggered by nighttime medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbance |
| topic | spread-F MSTID polarized electric field |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/5/945 |
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