SA012-04
E- and F-region Wind Influences on the Topside Equatorial ionosphere Observed by ICON

Wednesday, 9 December 2020: 19:12
Virtual
Roderick A Heelis1, Russell Stoneback1, Yun-Ju Chen2, Brian Joseph Harding3, Thomas J Immel4, Christoph R Englert5, Kenneth David Marr5, John Harlander6 and Jonathan J Makela7, (1)University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States, (2)University of Texas at Dallas, William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences, Richardson, TX, United States, (3)Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States, (4)Univ of California, Berkeley, CA, United States, (5)Naval Research Lab DC, Space Science Division, Washington, DC, United States, (6)SCSU, St Cloud, MN, United States, (7)Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
In the topside equatorial-ionosphere the plasma composition and temperature are strongly influenced by the dynamo action of E-region winds producing plasma drifts perpendicular to the magnetic field, and by the F-region winds that move plasma parallel to the magnetic field and modify the diffusive motions. Under solar minimum conditions both the O+ and H+ concentrations are modulated by the wind induced dynamics and by seasonal variations in the photoionization rates. The ICON mission provides measurements of all the relevant parameters, allowing the driving winds in the E region and the F region, the topside plasma motions, the plasma composition and the ion temperature to be connected. Here we report on the nature of these connections for different seasons during the solar minimum period in 2020.
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