Tidal Control of Equatorial Vertical E × B Drift Under Solar Minimum Conditions

Abstract

Abstract Observations show that equatorial ionospheric vertical drifts during solar minimum differ from the climatology between late afternoon and midnight. By analyzing WACCM‐X simulations, which reproduce this solar cycle dependence, we show that the interplay of the dominant migrating tides, their propagating and in situ forced components, and their solar cycle dependence impact the F‐region wind dynamo. In particular, the amplitude and phase of the propagating migrating semidiurnal tide (SW2) in the F‐region plays a key role. Under solar minimum conditions, the SW2 tide propagate to and beyond the F‐region in the winter hemisphere, and consequently its zonal wind amplitude in the F‐region is much stronger than that under solar maximum conditions. Furthermore, its phase shift leads to a strong eastward wind perturbation near local midnight. This in turn drives a F‐region dynamo with an equatorial upward drift between 18 and 1 hr local times.

Keywords

• atmospheric tides
• ionosphere
• thermosphere
• electric dynamo