Observations and modelling of ionospheric and thermospheric disturbances during major geomagnetic storms: A review

Abstract

The thermosphere is primarily energised by the combination of three sources of energy and momentum. Solar UV and EUV energy is absorbed globally on the dayside within the middle and upper thermosphere. There is a persistent, but highly variable, inflow of energy and momentum from the magnetosphere. These magnetospheric inputs are usually confined to high latitudes, except at times of very large geomagnetic disturbances. Tides and gravity waves upwell from their sources in the troposphere and stratosphere to deposit energy and momentum at levels from the middle mesosphere to the upper thermosphere. Solar EUV radiation between 120 ran and 250 nm photo-dissociates the molecules which dominate the composition of the lower thermosphere, in particular producing atomic oxygen which dominates the composition of the upper thermosphere. The combination of solar EUV radiation at wavelengths shorter than 120 nm, plus energetic (mainly) charged particles from the magnetosphere, also ionise the neutral constituents of the thermosphere, creating the ionosphere. Particularly at high latitudes, within the geomagnetic polar caps and auroral ovals, the energetic, dynamical and chemical coupling and interactions between the thermosphere and ionosphere dominate the structural and dynamical response of both the thermosphere and ionosphere to solar and geomagnetic inputs of energy and momentum. Comparisons between predictions using global thermosphere-ionosphere coupled models and comparable observational sets have shown encouraging agreement during periods of relatively quiet geomagnetic activity. This indicates that the major energetic, ionisation, chemical and dynamical processes and interactions can be described in models with reasonable accuracy. During periods of high geomagnetic activity, and particularly during major geomagnetic storms, large rapid disturbances of the thermosphere occur with extremely rapid variations. These disturbances are observed as large increases of temperature, density, major changes of neutral composition, and with the development of high speed wind flows and large amplitude waves which may propagate to affect the entire globe. Since the ionosphere is formed from thermospheric constituents and affected by thermospherc dynamics, the gross disturbances of the ionosphere during highly disturbed periods are related to contemporary changes of density, composition and flows of the thermosphere, as well as changes of ionisation sources and electric fields. Observations which describe the nature and scale of disturbances of the thermosphere during geomagnetic storms will be used, in combination with appropriate global numerical simulations, to aid interpretation of storm-time ionospheric phenomena. The role of energetic, dynamical and chemical coupling between the thermosphere and ionosphere is emphasised.