Morphology and Evolution of Plasma Density Enhancement Events in the Equatorial Ionospheric F Region on 8 February and 4 November 2018

Abstract

AbstractIn this study, we used observations from multiple instruments (all‐sky imager [ASI], digisonde, and Beidou geostationary satellite global positioning system receivers) to show the occurrence and evolution of two plasma density enhancement structures (PDESs) during the night of 8 February and 4 November 2018. The PDESs were elongated from northwest to southeast. Their zonal scales were about 200–400 km and longitudinal ranges were about 800–1,400 km. Within the PDES, the plasma density can be enhanced by about two times over the background density. The PDESs appeared before midnight and gradually dissipated after midnight. Plasma density depletion structures appeared within the PDES at the later stage of PDES. Each PDES event lasted for over 4 hours. The morphology and evolution of the PDESs presented in this paper are different from those reported in previous studies. In addition, based on the thermosphere‐ionosphere‐electrodynamics general circulation model simulations and digisonde observations, we proposed a possible cause for the PDESs in the events, in which the occurrence and evolution of PDES are related to the variations of thermospheric meridional winds in the equatorial region.