Atmospheric and ionospheric response to sudden stratospheric warming of January 2013

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, we examine the atmospheric and ionospheric responses to the January 2013 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event. To examine the atmospheric and ionospheric behavior during this event, three main parameters are used (1) Total Electron Content (TEC) collected from the International Global Positioning System and from the Brazilian Network of Continuous Monitoring stations, (2) daytime E × B vertical drift derived from the magnetometers located at the equatorial station Alta Floresta (9.9°S, 55.9°W, dip latitude 1.96°) and an off‐equatorial station Cuiaba (15.3°S, 56.0°W, dip latitude 7.10°), both in the Brazilian sector, (3) the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) meridional and zonal wind components measured by the Meteor Radar located at the southern midlatitude Santa Maria (29.4°S, 53.3°W, dip latitude 17.8°). We identify the anomalous variation in E × B drift based on later local‐time migration of peak value with SSW days. A novel feature of the present study is the identification of the similar migration pattern in the TEC anomaly, in spite that the simultaneous solar flux increases during the SSW event. Other novel features are the amplification of the 13–16 day period in the TEC anomaly during the SSW days and simultaneous amplification of this period in the meridional and zonal wind components in the MLT region, as far as 30°S. These aspects reveal the presence of coupled atmosphere‐ionosphere dynamics during the SSW event and the amplification of the lunar and/or solar tidal component, a characteristic which is recently reported from the electrojet current measurements.