Drift velocities of 150-km Field-Aligned Irregularities observed by the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar

Abstract

Between 130 and 170 km altitude in the daytime ionosphere, the so-called 150-km field-aligned irregularities (FAIs) have been observed since the 1960s at equatorial regions with several very high frequency (VHF) radars. We report statistical results of 150-km FAI drift velocities on a plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field, acquired by analyzing the Doppler velocities of 150-km FAIs observed with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) at Kototabang, Indonesia during the period from Aug. 2007 to Oct. 2009. We found that the southward/upward perpendicular drift velocity of the 150-km FAIs tends to decrease in the afternoon and that this feature is consistent with that of F-region plasma drift velocities over the magnetic equator. The zonal component of the 150-km FAI drift velocity is westward and decreases with time, whereas the F-region plasma drift velocity observed with the incoherent scatter radar at Jicamarca, Peru, which is westward, reaches a maximum at about noon. The southward/upward and zonal drift velocities of the 150-km FAIs are smaller than that of the F-region plasma drift velocity by approximately 3 m/s and 25 m/s, respectively, on average. The large difference between the 150-km FAI and F-region plasma drift velocities may not arise from a difference in the magnetic latitudes at which their electric fields are generated. Electric fields generated at the altitude at which the 150-km FAIs occur may not be negligible.