On the response of Indian equatorial and low-latitude ionosphere to Sudden Stratospheric Warming during 2009 and 2013
Abstract
The vertical coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere is one of the major drivers of day-to-day variability of the ionosphere. The variability of low-latitude ionosphere is intricate as it is also coupled laterally to the high-latitude dynamical processes. Sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) is one such meteorological phenomenon which occur in polar winter stratosphere and causes large variations in the upper atmosphere. The present study investigates the variability of low-latitude ionosphere of the Indian region to the two major SSW events occurred during 2009 and 2013. The equatorial electrojet (EEJ) strength obtained from geomagnetic field variations and total electron content (TEC) derived from using Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system at several stations in India have been in the present study. Results reveal a significant difference in the response of equatorial electrodynamics and low-latitude ionosphere during the two events. The National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) wind data at 10hPa (30km) level and the meteor wind radar data installed at dip equatorial station, Trivandrum (8.5°N, 77.1°E, 0.5°N), have been used to identify any cause-effect relationship between observed variations in low-latitude ionosphere and stratospheric warming events. The results suggest the strong role of quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) in modulating the effect of SSW over low-latitudes.
- Publication:
-
42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018cosp...42E3724Y