O. F. Jonah

Atmospheric and ionospheric response to sudden stratospheric warming of January 2013

In this work, we examine the atmospheric and ionospheric responses to the January 2013 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event. To examine the atmospheric and ionospheric behavior during this event, three main parameters are used (1) Total Electron Content (TEC) collected from the International Global Positioning System and from the Brazilian Network of Continuous Monitoring stations, (2) daytime E × B vertical drift derived from the magnetometers located at the equatorial station Alta Floresta (9.9°S, 55.9°W, dip latitude 1.96°) and an off-equatorial station Cuiaba (15.3°S, 56.0°W, dip latitude 7.10°), both in the Brazilian sector, (3) the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) meridional and zonal wind components measured by the Meteor Radar located at the southern midlatitude Santa Maria (29.4°S, 53.3°W, dip latitude 17.8°). We identify the anomalous variation in E × B drift based on later local-time migration of peak value with SSW days. A novel feature of the present study is the identification of the similar migration pattern in the TEC anomaly, in spite that the simultaneous solar flux increases during the SSW event. Other novel features are the amplification of the 13–16 day period in the TEC anomaly during the SSW days and simultaneous amplification of this period in the meridional and zonal wind components in the MLT region, as far as 30°S. These aspects reveal the presence of coupled atmosphere-ionosphere dynamics during the SSW event and the amplification of the lunar and/or solar tidal component, a characteristic which is recently reported from the electrojet current measurements.

Low‐latitude scintillation weakening during sudden stratospheric warming events

Global Positioning System (GPS) L1-frequency (1.575 GHz) amplitude scintillations at Sao Jose dos Campos (23.1°S, 45.8°W, dip latitude 17.3°S), located under the southern crest of the equatorial ionization anomaly, are analyzed during the Northern Hemisphere winter sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events of 2001/2002, 2002/2003, and 2012/2013. The events occurred during a period when moderate to strong scintillations are normally observed in the Brazilian longitude sector. The selected SSW events were of moderate and major categories and under low Kp conditions. The most important result of the current study is the long-lasting (many weeks) weakening of scintillation amplitudes at this low-latitude station, compared to their pre-SSW periods. Ionosonde-derived evening vertical plasma drifts and meridional neutral wind effects inferred from total electron content measurements are consistent with the observed weakening of GPS scintillations during these SSW events. This work provides strong evidence of SSW effects on ionospheric scintillations and the potential consequences of such SSW events on Global Navigation Satellite System-based applications.

Equatorial ionization anomaly variability over the Brazilian region during boreal sudden stratospheric warming events

This study refers to the connection between the stratosphere and ionosphere, investigating, specifically, the behavior of the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) and ionospheric effects over the Brazilian region during sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events. We studied three major warmings that occurred in the Northern Hemisphere winter 2007–2008, 2008–2009, and 2009–2010 and a minor warming that occurred in 2010–2011. The solar activity was low for the first two cases and relatively moderate for the last two. In this study the EIA behavior was investigated using the ΔTEC (total electron content) parameter, which expresses the EIA relative intensity for the Brazilian sector. The results for the Brazilian region show, mainly after SSW temperature peak, an increase in the EIA intensity in the morning, followed by a decrease in the afternoon. As identified through ΔTEC signatures and consistently confirmed through wavelet power spectra analysis, this semidiurnal behavior is preserved for a number of days equal to the polar region thermal stabilization phase and it is very similar to the results obtained in pioneer studies in the Peruvian sector, in which TEC data was also used. In some cases the TEC negative variation is stronger than the positive, being noticeably more intense around the prereversal enhancement time, when the EIA is strongly suppressed in the Brazilian sector.