A role of the altitude gradient of the thermospheric wind velocity in ionospheric F-region dynamics

Abstract

By processing the data of vertical ionospheric sounding in Almaty for 2000–2009, we obtained the distributions of the heights of the maximum (hmF) and bottom (hbotF) of the F2-layer, incremental changes in its semi-thickness (δh), the characteristic time of losses (τ), and the vertical displacement velocity of the node of the thermospheric wind (V) during the transitional time of the day during nighttime increases in the electron concentration at the layer maximum. The comparison of the measured V and modeled Vm velocities showed a certain discrepancy. The influence of the altitude gradient of the meridional thermospheric wind velocity on the behaviors of hmF, hbotF, δh, and τ during nighttime increases in the electron concentration is studied.