Case studies of drivers of ionospheric upwellings

T. W. David; Chizurumoke Michael Michael; Darren Wright; A. T. Talabi; Abayomi Ajetunmobi; Tunde Awoyinka; Semiu Kareem

doi:10.1007/s12648-025-03582-4

Case studies of drivers of ionospheric upwellings

T. W. David^*, Chizurumoke Michael Michael, Darren Wright, A. T. Talabi, Abayomi Ajetunmobi, Tunde Awoyinka, Semiu Kareem

^*Corresponding author for this work

Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Electron precipitation is a phenomenon that occurs when highly energetic electrons are “rained” into the ionosphere through electromagnetic waves energisation, and as a result, ambipolar electric field is set up to accelerate particles such as O+ to higher energy in order to cause an upwelling. Similarly, Joule heating, which points to neutral atmosphere heating, can also cause the neutral gas to upwell and as a result, pull up ions along the field lines. Analysis of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) data in this work indicates periods when (i) ambipolar electric field is set up to drive ion upflow, (ii) Joule heating is responsible to the upwelling ions, and (iii) when both drivers combined to cause the energisation of the ion for upflow. The peak upwelling during the March 15, 2007 ambipolar-electric-field-driven event indicates enhanced ion flux of up to 1.0x10^(14) m^-2 s^-1
, covering up to the upper E-region. However, the September 11, 2007 event is Joule-heating-driven, and the heating is most effective in the F-region altitude, modifying the plasma pressure gradient and resulting in field-aligned ion acceleration. When strong electric field drives ion population through the neutral gas, friction heating occurs and an elevation of the plasma pressure gradient as a result. This is observed in the September 29, 2007 event, where both ambipolar electric field and the Joule heating are co-drivers, making the upwellings to cover long duration of up to 5 h. Data from Cooperative UK Twin Located Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) indicates cusp signature for the dayside events.

Original language	English
Number of pages	11
Journal	Indian Journal of Physics
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12648-025-03582-4
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2025

Data Access Statement

The authors acknowledge the EISCAT Scientific Association for easy accessibility to the Madrigal database. The international community is equally applauded for the 2007 international polar year campaign that generated such high level of robust data. We acknowledge the use of SuperDARN data. SuperDARN is a collection of radars funded by national scientific funding agencies of Australia, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States of America. This research used the SPECTRE High Performance Computing Facility at the University of Leicester and manpower at Olabisi Onabanjo University.

Data availability The SuperDARN data used in this paper can be accessed from (http://vt.superdarn.org/). The EISCAT data used in this paper can be obtained via the schedule pages of the EISCAT website (https://www.eiscat.se/) and the Madrigal database.

Keywords

Electron precipitation
Ambipolar electric field
Joule heating
Upflow

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10.1007/s12648-025-03582-4

AAM_David_et_al_2025_Case_studies_of_drivers_of_ionospheric_upwellingsAccepted author manuscript, 1.29 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Case studies of drivers of ionospheric upwellings",

abstract = "Electron precipitation is a phenomenon that occurs when highly energetic electrons are “rained” into the ionosphere through electromagnetic waves energisation, and as a result, ambipolar electric field is set up to accelerate particles such as O+ to higher energy in order to cause an upwelling. Similarly, Joule heating, which points to neutral atmosphere heating, can also cause the neutral gas to upwell and as a result, pull up ions along the field lines. Analysis of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) data in this work indicates periods when (i) ambipolar electric field is set up to drive ion upflow, (ii) Joule heating is responsible to the upwelling ions, and (iii) when both drivers combined to cause the energisation of the ion for upflow. The peak upwelling during the March 15, 2007 ambipolar-electric-field-driven event indicates enhanced ion flux of up to 1.0x10^(14) m^-2 s^-1, covering up to the upper E-region. However, the September 11, 2007 event is Joule-heating-driven, and the heating is most effective in the F-region altitude, modifying the plasma pressure gradient and resulting in field-aligned ion acceleration. When strong electric field drives ion population through the neutral gas, friction heating occurs and an elevation of the plasma pressure gradient as a result. This is observed in the September 29, 2007 event, where both ambipolar electric field and the Joule heating are co-drivers, making the upwellings to cover long duration of up to 5 h. Data from Cooperative UK Twin Located Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) indicates cusp signature for the dayside events.",

keywords = "Electron precipitation, Ambipolar electric field, Joule heating, Upflow",

author = "David, {T. W.} and Michael, {Chizurumoke Michael} and Darren Wright and Talabi, {A. T.} and Abayomi Ajetunmobi and Tunde Awoyinka and Semiu Kareem",

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AU - David, T. W.

AU - Michael, Chizurumoke Michael

AU - Wright, Darren

AU - Talabi, A. T.

AU - Ajetunmobi, Abayomi

AU - Awoyinka, Tunde

AU - Kareem, Semiu

PY - 2025/4/1

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N2 - Electron precipitation is a phenomenon that occurs when highly energetic electrons are “rained” into the ionosphere through electromagnetic waves energisation, and as a result, ambipolar electric field is set up to accelerate particles such as O+ to higher energy in order to cause an upwelling. Similarly, Joule heating, which points to neutral atmosphere heating, can also cause the neutral gas to upwell and as a result, pull up ions along the field lines. Analysis of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) data in this work indicates periods when (i) ambipolar electric field is set up to drive ion upflow, (ii) Joule heating is responsible to the upwelling ions, and (iii) when both drivers combined to cause the energisation of the ion for upflow. The peak upwelling during the March 15, 2007 ambipolar-electric-field-driven event indicates enhanced ion flux of up to 1.0x10^(14) m^-2 s^-1, covering up to the upper E-region. However, the September 11, 2007 event is Joule-heating-driven, and the heating is most effective in the F-region altitude, modifying the plasma pressure gradient and resulting in field-aligned ion acceleration. When strong electric field drives ion population through the neutral gas, friction heating occurs and an elevation of the plasma pressure gradient as a result. This is observed in the September 29, 2007 event, where both ambipolar electric field and the Joule heating are co-drivers, making the upwellings to cover long duration of up to 5 h. Data from Cooperative UK Twin Located Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) indicates cusp signature for the dayside events.

AB - Electron precipitation is a phenomenon that occurs when highly energetic electrons are “rained” into the ionosphere through electromagnetic waves energisation, and as a result, ambipolar electric field is set up to accelerate particles such as O+ to higher energy in order to cause an upwelling. Similarly, Joule heating, which points to neutral atmosphere heating, can also cause the neutral gas to upwell and as a result, pull up ions along the field lines. Analysis of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) data in this work indicates periods when (i) ambipolar electric field is set up to drive ion upflow, (ii) Joule heating is responsible to the upwelling ions, and (iii) when both drivers combined to cause the energisation of the ion for upflow. The peak upwelling during the March 15, 2007 ambipolar-electric-field-driven event indicates enhanced ion flux of up to 1.0x10^(14) m^-2 s^-1, covering up to the upper E-region. However, the September 11, 2007 event is Joule-heating-driven, and the heating is most effective in the F-region altitude, modifying the plasma pressure gradient and resulting in field-aligned ion acceleration. When strong electric field drives ion population through the neutral gas, friction heating occurs and an elevation of the plasma pressure gradient as a result. This is observed in the September 29, 2007 event, where both ambipolar electric field and the Joule heating are co-drivers, making the upwellings to cover long duration of up to 5 h. Data from Cooperative UK Twin Located Auroral Sounding System (CUTLASS) indicates cusp signature for the dayside events.

KW - Electron precipitation

KW - Ambipolar electric field

KW - Joule heating

KW - Upflow

U2 - 10.1007/s12648-025-03582-4

DO - 10.1007/s12648-025-03582-4

M3 - Article

SN - 0973-1458

JO - Indian Journal of Physics

JF - Indian Journal of Physics

ER -

Case studies of drivers of ionospheric upwellings

Abstract

Data Access Statement

Keywords

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