Role of the evening eastward electric field and the seed perturbations in the sequential occurrence of plasma bubble

We investigate the 3-m ionospheric irregularities and the height variation of equatorial F-region observed by the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) at Kototabang (100.3°E, 0.2°S, dip. Lat.: 10.1°S) in Indonesia and ionosondes at Chumphon (99.3°E, 10.7°N, dip. Lat.: 3°N) in Thailand and at Bac Lieu (105.7°E, 9.3°N, dip. Lat.; 1.5°N) in Vietnam, respectively, during March-April from 2011 to 2014. We aim to disclose the relation between pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) of evening eastward electric field and the sequential occurrence of the equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) in the period of 19-22 LT. In summary, (i) we found that the zonal spacing between consecutive EPBs ranges from less than 100 km up to 800 km with a maximum occurrence around 100-300 km as shown in Figure 1(a), and this result is consistent with the previous study [e.g. Makela et al., 2010]; (ii) the probability of the sequential occurrence of the EPB enhances with the increase of PRE strength (see Figure 1(b)); and (iii) Figure 1(c) shows that the zonal spacing between consecutive EPBs is less than 300 km for the weaker PRE (<30 m/s), whereas the zonal spacing is more varied for the stronger PRE (≥30 m/s). Our results remark that the PRE strength is a prominent factor of the sequential occurrence of the EPB. However, we also consider another factor, namely the zonal structure of seed perturbation modulated by gravity wave (GW), and the zonal spacing between consecutive EPBs may fit with the wavelength of the zonal structure of seed perturbation. We particularly attribute the result (iii) to the effects of PRE and seed perturbation on the sequential occurrence of the EPB, that is, we suggest that the weaker PRE could cause the sequential occurrence of the EPB when the zonal structure of seed perturbation has a shorter wavelength. We, however, need a further investigation for confirming the periodic seeding mechanism, and we will use a network of GPS receivers in the western part of Southeast Asia to analyze the zonal wavy structure in the TEC as a manifestation of the seed perturbations.