Impacts of Thunderstorm‐Generated Gravity Waves on the Ionosphere‐Thermosphere Using TIEGCM‐NG/MAGIC Simulations and Comparisons With GNSS TEC, ICON, and COSMIC‐2 Observations
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: We use the TIEGCM‐NG nudged by MAGIC gravity waves to study the impacts of a severe thunderstorm system, with a hundred tornado touchdowns, on the ionospheric and thermospheric disturbances. The generated waves induce a distinct concentric ring pattern on GNSS TIDs with horizontal scales of 150–400 km and phase speeds of 150–300 m/s, which is well simulated by the model. The waves show substantial vertical evolution in period, initially dominated by 0.5 hr at 200 km, shifting to 0.25 hr and with more higher‐frequency waves appearing at higher altitudes (∼400 km). The TADs reach amplitudes of 100 m/s, 60 m/s, 80 K, and 10% in horizontal winds, vertical wind, temperature, and relative neutral density, respectively. Significantly perturbations in electron density cause dramatic changes in its nighttime structure around 200 km and near the EIA crest. The concentric TIDs are also simulated in ion drifts and mapped from the Tornado region to the conjugate hemisphere likely due to neutral wind‐induced electric field perturbations. The waves manage to impact the ionosphere at altitudes of ICON and COSMIC‐2, which pass through the region of interest on a total of 8 separate orbits. In situ ion density observations from these spacecrafts reveal periodic fluctuations that frequently show good agreement with the TIEGCM‐NG simulation. The O+ fraction observations from ICON indicate that the density fluctuations are the result of vertical transport of the ions in this region, which could result from either direct forcing by neutral winds or electrodynamic coupling.
DOI: 10.1029/2024ja032854
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,880
Awards: Collaborative Research: CEDAR--Experimental and Theoretical Investigation of Midlatitude Ionospheric Instability, Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Impacts of Atmospheric Waves and Geomagnetic Disturbances on Quiet-time and Storm-time Space Weather, Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Impacts of Atmospheric Waves and Geomagnetic Disturbances on Quiet-time and Storm-time Space Weather, Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Impacts of Atmospheric Waves and Geomagnetic Disturbances on Quiet-time and Storm-time Space Weather, G4024070829, G4165732435, Scientific and Technical Discovery at the Millstone Hill Geospace Facility, G4506539387, G482102745, CAREER: Integrated Studies of Polar Wave and Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere Couplings from New Observations and Whole Atmosphere Modeling, G6127423086, G6671297155, Collaborative Research: ANSWERS: Impacts of Atmospheric Waves and Geomagnetic Disturbances on Quiet-time and Storm-time Space Weather, G7453856743, WE PROPOSE TO COMBINE THE NASA-MISSION DATA (I.E. ACE TIMED/SABER) DMSP GROUND-BASED LIDAR MEASUREMENTS AND THE COUPLED THERMOSPHERE IONOSPHERE PLASMASPHERE ELECTRODYNAMICS (CTIPE) MODEL TO INVESTIGATE HOW THE LOCALIZED MAGNETOSPHERIC ENERGY IS DISSIPATED VIA FUNDMENTAL PROCESSES IN THE POLAR MAGNETOSPHERE-IONOSPHERE-THERMOSPHERE (MIT) COUPLED SYSTEM. WE REDUCE THE OVERALL EFFORTS FROM ADDRESSING THE THREE SCIENCE QUESTIONS PROPOSED PREVIOUSLY TO ONLY ADDRESSING THE FIRST TWO QUESTIONS: 1) WHAT DRIVES THE OBSERVED TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS IN THE LOWER THERMOSPHERE? 2) ARE THE TIME SCALES FOR RADIATIVE AND DIFFUSIVE COOLING PROCESSES CONSISTENT WITH THE OBSERVED TEMPERATURE RESPONSES? THE TWO OBJECTIVES ASSOCIATED WITH THESE TWO SCIENCE QUESTIONS ARE: 1) QUANTIFY THE ALTITUDE PROFILES OF JOULE HEATING PARTICLE PRECIPITATION HEATING AND DYNAMICAL HEATING TO IDENTIFY THE DOMINANT MECHANISM(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OBSERVED TEMPERATURE ELEVATIONS AND INVERSIONS IN THE LOWER THERMOSPHERE. ASSESS THE IMPACT OF NON-MAXWELLIAN AURORA PARTICLE SPECTRA ON THE CONDUCTIVITY PROFILES AND THE NEUTRAL TEMPERATURE RESPONSES. 2) INVESTIGATE THE CHANGES OF NO AND CO2 COOLING RATES AND TIME SCALES DURING STORM TIME AND QUANTIFY THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO TEMPERATURE PROFILES.
OpenAlex ID: W4404833972