Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements
Abstract Significant polar topside total electron content (topTEC) enhancement (PTTE) above 1,336 km altitude is reported for the first time. The results are based on GPS measurements during 2008–2019 from NASA's Jason‐2 satellite with zenith‐oriented antennas. The observations show increasing...
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2021-03-01
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001429 |
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doaj-1e774c7dae344e25bdb2cd7468e710952021-03-26T21:46:39ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842021-03-0183n/an/a10.1029/2020EA001429Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 MeasurementsXiaoqing Pi0Anthony J. Mannucci1Olga Verkhoglyadova2Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAAbstract Significant polar topside total electron content (topTEC) enhancement (PTTE) above 1,336 km altitude is reported for the first time. The results are based on GPS measurements during 2008–2019 from NASA's Jason‐2 satellite with zenith‐oriented antennas. The observations show increasing topTEC toward the southern polar cap at geomagnetic latitudes poleward of 65°S, where TEC values are normally very low. A case study for the 2013 St. Patrick's Day storm indicates that the enhancement can exceed 5.5 TEC units above the dayside ambient state, corresponding to 78% increase. Comparisons with COSMIC/FORMOSAT‐3 topTEC measurements above 800 km altitude confirm that PTTE events are observed from both Jason‐2 and COSMIC on the same day. Our statistical analysis of the Jason‐2 data in the southern polar region reveals that PTTE mostly occurs on the dayside, with a seasonal preference of southern summer, and preferentially during geomagnetically disturbed days but can also occur during quiet days. PTTE during storm days shows increased occurrence, magnitude, and deviation from the mean in the cusp region compared with quiet days. Our case analysis indicates that PTTE is observed simultaneously with the effect of tongue of ionization. This suggests that the during storms, dayside F region plasma moving poleward following the antisunward plasma convection may also be part of the PTTE source, and the plasma upflow driven by the polar wind may act to cause PTTE.https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001429coupling of the magnetosphere and ionosphere in the cusp and polar cap regionsNASA's Jason‐2 Satellite Zenith‐viewing GPS TEC measurementspolar topside TEC enhancementpolar windtongue of ionization |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Xiaoqing Pi Anthony J. Mannucci Olga Verkhoglyadova |
spellingShingle |
Xiaoqing Pi Anthony J. Mannucci Olga Verkhoglyadova Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements Earth and Space Science coupling of the magnetosphere and ionosphere in the cusp and polar cap regions NASA's Jason‐2 Satellite Zenith‐viewing GPS TEC measurements polar topside TEC enhancement polar wind tongue of ionization |
author_facet |
Xiaoqing Pi Anthony J. Mannucci Olga Verkhoglyadova |
author_sort |
Xiaoqing Pi |
title |
Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements |
title_short |
Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements |
title_full |
Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements |
title_fullStr |
Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar Topside TEC Enhancement Revealed by Jason‐2 Measurements |
title_sort |
polar topside tec enhancement revealed by jason‐2 measurements |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
series |
Earth and Space Science |
issn |
2333-5084 |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
Abstract Significant polar topside total electron content (topTEC) enhancement (PTTE) above 1,336 km altitude is reported for the first time. The results are based on GPS measurements during 2008–2019 from NASA's Jason‐2 satellite with zenith‐oriented antennas. The observations show increasing topTEC toward the southern polar cap at geomagnetic latitudes poleward of 65°S, where TEC values are normally very low. A case study for the 2013 St. Patrick's Day storm indicates that the enhancement can exceed 5.5 TEC units above the dayside ambient state, corresponding to 78% increase. Comparisons with COSMIC/FORMOSAT‐3 topTEC measurements above 800 km altitude confirm that PTTE events are observed from both Jason‐2 and COSMIC on the same day. Our statistical analysis of the Jason‐2 data in the southern polar region reveals that PTTE mostly occurs on the dayside, with a seasonal preference of southern summer, and preferentially during geomagnetically disturbed days but can also occur during quiet days. PTTE during storm days shows increased occurrence, magnitude, and deviation from the mean in the cusp region compared with quiet days. Our case analysis indicates that PTTE is observed simultaneously with the effect of tongue of ionization. This suggests that the during storms, dayside F region plasma moving poleward following the antisunward plasma convection may also be part of the PTTE source, and the plasma upflow driven by the polar wind may act to cause PTTE. |
topic |
coupling of the magnetosphere and ionosphere in the cusp and polar cap regions NASA's Jason‐2 Satellite Zenith‐viewing GPS TEC measurements polar topside TEC enhancement polar wind tongue of ionization |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EA001429 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT xiaoqingpi polartopsidetecenhancementrevealedbyjason2measurements AT anthonyjmannucci polartopsidetecenhancementrevealedbyjason2measurements AT olgaverkhoglyadova polartopsidetecenhancementrevealedbyjason2measurements |
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