Dynamics of the Weddel Sea Anomaly and Main Ionospheric Trough in the Southern Summer Hemisphere

Abstract

The impact of the Weddell Sea Anomaly on the structure of the nightside ionosphere in the summer Southern Hemisphere is considered in detail. For this, data from the CHAMP satellite were used in January 2003 under high solar activity and in January 2008 under low solar activity. The data relate to the local time interval 02−04 LT, when the increase in electron density due to the formation of the anomaly is the strongest. At longitudes of 60°−180° E under high solar activity and 0°–210° E under low solar activity, where there is no anomaly, the main ionospheric trough is observed. The plasma peak in the nightside ionosphere associated with formation of the anomaly reaches 6 MHz under low solar activity and 10 MHz under high solar activity. The strongly developed plasma peak decreases sharply to high latitudes at the equatorward boundary of auroral diffuse precipitation, which corresponds to the plasmapause. When the anomaly is weakly developed, the contribution of diffuse precipitation becomes noticeable, so that the plasma peak expands poleward due to this precipitation. Poleward of the anomaly, the high-latitude trough is usually observed at latitudes of the auroral oval. A well-defined electron density minimum is often formed equatorward of the Weddell Sea Anomaly, which can be defined as a subtrough. Sometimes the subtrough is created by the escape of ionospheric plasma from the summer to the winter hemisphere. Then a density maximum forms in the winter hemisphere at adjacent latitudes. A subtrough is much more common under low solar activity than under high.