Faculty Profiles - OTSUKA, Yuichi

Papers - OTSUKA, Yuichi

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Long-distance propagation of ionospheric disturbance generated by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake Reviewed

C. H. Chen, A. Saito, C. H. Lin, J. Y. Liu, H. F. Tsai, T. Tsugawa, Y. Otsuka, M. Nishioka, M. Matsumura

EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE Vol. 63 ( 7 ) page： 881 - 884 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：SPRINGER HEIDELBERG

Propagation of the initial ionospheric total electron content (TEC) disturbances generated by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake at 05: 46: 23 UT on March 11, 2011, was investigated with ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in the east-Asian region. It was found that the initial ionospheric disturbance formed a zonal wave front after the earthquake occurrence. Four zonal wave fronts of this initial ionospheric disturbance were observed to travel southward from Japan to Taiwan with a velocity of about 1,0001,700 m/s. This study further found that the direction of the wave vector rotated from the south-southwest to the south-southeast as it traveled from Japan to Taiwan. The meridional propagation of the coseismic ionospheric disturbances is consistent with those observed after previous intense earthquakes. The temporal evolutions of initial ionospheric disturbances, after the earthquake, near the epicenter was observed in two-dimensions. The directivity of the disturbances was caused by a geomagnetic field effect.

DOI： 10.5047/eps.2011.06.026

Web of Science

ISS-IMAPミッションによって明らかになる超高層大気の姿

斎藤昭則, 山崎敦, 阿部琢美, 鈴木睦, 坂野井健, 藤原均, 吉川一朗, 大塚雄一, 田口真, 山本衛, 中村卓司, 江尻省, 菊池雅行, 河野英昭, 石井守, 久保田実, 星野尾一明, 坂野井和代

第25回大気圏シンポジウム 2011

Ionospheric multiple stratifications and irregularities induced by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake Reviewed

Takashi Maruyama, Takuya Tsugawa, Hisao Kato, Akinori Saito, Yuichi Otsuka, Michi Nishioka

EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE Vol. 63 ( 7 ) page： 869 - 873 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：TERRA SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 occurred at 1446: 23 JST on March 11, 2011, in Japan. Ionospheric disturbances were detected at 1500 JST at four ionosonde stations. An irregular distortion of echo trace was observed at Kokubunji, which is the nearest station to the epicenter and is 440 km from it. Multiple-cusp-type trace indicating extra stratification was observed at Wakkanai and Yamagawa, which are 870 and 1410 km away from the epicenter. A small wavy fluctuation was observed at Okinawa 1910 km away from the epicenter. The real height analysis of the ionograms showed a vertical structure with a scale size of 20 similar to 30 km.

DOI： 10.5047/eps.2011.06.008

Web of Science

Ionospheric disturbances detected by GPS total electron content observation after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake Reviewed

T. Tsugawa, A. Saito, Y. Otsuka, M. Nishioka, T. Maruyama, H. Kato, T. Nagatsuma, K. T. Murata

EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE Vol. 63 ( 7 ) page： 875 - 879 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：TERRA SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO

All the details of ionospheric disturbances following the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake were first revealed by the high-resolution GPS total electron content observation in Japan. The initial ionospheric disturbance appeared as sudden depletions following small impulsive TEC enhancements similar to 7 minutes after the earthquake onset, near the epicenter. Then, concentric waves appeared to propagate in the radial direction with a velocity of 138-3,457 m/s. Zonally-extended enhancements of the TEC also appeared in the west of Japan. In the vicinity of the epicenter, short-period oscillations with a period of similar to 4 minutes were observed. This paper focuses on the concentric waves. The concentric pattern indicates that they had a point source. The center of these structures, termed the "ionospheric epicenter", was located about 170 km from the epicenter in the southeast direction. According to the propagation characteristics, these concentric waves could be caused by atmospheric waves classified into three types: acoustic waves generated from a propagating Rayleigh wave, acoustic waves from the ionospheric epicenter, and atmospheric gravity waves from the ionospheric epicenter. The amplitude of the concentric waves was not uniform and was dependent on the azimuth of their propagation direction, which could not be explained by previously-proposed theory.

DOI： 10.5047/eps.2011.06.035

Web of Science

Numerical simulations of atmospheric waves excited by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake Reviewed

M. Matsumura, A. Saito, T. Iyemori, H. Shinagawa, T. Tsugawa, Y. Otsuka, M. Nishioka, C. H. Chen

EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE Vol. 63 ( 7 ) page： 885 - 889 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：SPRINGER HEIDELBERG

Numerical simulations are performed to simulate atmospheric perturbations observed at ionospheric heights just after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. A time-dependent, two-dimensional, nonlinear, non-hydrostatic, compressible and neutral, numerical model is developed to reproduce the atmospheric perturbations. An impulsive upward surface motion is assumed as the source of the perturbations. Simulated atmospheric perturbations at 300-km altitude show remarkable agreement with oscillations observed in the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) when the source width is about 250 km. In the vicinity of the source, the acoustic resonance modes between the ground surface and the lower thermosphere are dominant. They have three dominant frequencies for the interval between 20 and 60 min after the impulsive input. The perturbation with the maximum amplitude has a frequency of 4.4 mHz. The other dominant modes have frequencies of 3.6 and 5.1 mHz. The beats between the dominant modes are also seen. In the distance, the gravity modes are dominant. The horizontal phase velocities are about 220 to 300 m/s, and the horizontal wavelengths are about 200 to 400 km. The good agreement between the simulation and the observations indicates that ionospheric oscillations generated by the earthquake are mainly due to the motion of the neutral atmosphere.

DOI： 10.5047/eps.2011.07.015

Web of Science

Propagation of large amplitude ionospheric disturbances with velocity dispersion observed by the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake Reviewed

Nozomu Nishitani, Tadahiko Ogawa, Yuichi Otsuka, Keisuke Hosokawa, Tomoaki Hori

EARTH PLANETS AND SPACE Vol. 63 ( 7 ) page： 891 - 896 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：TERRA SCIENTIFIC PUBL CO

Ionospheric responses to the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake are studied using the SuperDARN Hokkaido radar, which is located at (43.5 degrees N, 143.6 degrees E) and which monitors the ionosphere over a wide horizontal area. The radar observed an oscillation of the vertical motion of the ionosphere with a period of about 1 to 2 min. The disturbance propagated northward, away from the epicenter with the velocity of about 6.2, 4.5, 3.9 and 3.5 km/s. The latter three values are basically consistent with the propagation of the Earth's surface waves reported in several previous studies. The propagation velocities decreased with time, which has not been reported in previous studies for this propagation velocity range. The peak-to-peak amplitudes of Doppler velocities of ground/sea scatter echoes observed by the radar were up to 200 m/s, which is considerably larger than previously-reported values using HF Doppler measurements, although they are not extremely large for this historical earthquake (M = 9.0). This is the first time that ionospheric data have been obtained with high temporal (8 s) and spatial (22.5 km) resolutions following a giant earthquake, which enables us to discuss the detailed characteristics of the propagation of coseismic ionospheric disturbances.

DOI： 10.5047/eps.2011.07.003

Web of Science

On postmidnight low-latitude ionospheric irregularities during solar minimum: 2. C/NOFS observations and comparisons with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar Reviewed

T. Yokoyama, R. F. Pfaff, P. A. Roddy, M. Yamamoto, Y. Otsuka

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Vol. 116 ( 11 ) 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Blackwell Publishing Ltd

A detailed comparison between the observations of the Communication/ Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite and the 47 MHz Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) in West Sumatra, Indonesia (10.36S dip latitude) on the postmidnight irregularities is presented. The zonal and meridional E × B drift velocities measured by the vector electric field instrument on the C/NOFS are consistent with the westward propagation of backscatter echoes and the line-of-sight Doppler velocities observed with the EAR, respectively. The plasma density depletions are observed in the postmidnight sector for several consecutive orbits, which suggests the depletions grow slowly during the premidnight period and reach the spacecraft altitude around local midnight. The convergence of the equatorward wind which could be responsible for the midnight temperature maximum may produce a preferable condition for the growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability around midnight. Electric field fluctuations of medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances may play an important role in seeding the instability. Both equatorial and midlatitude-type plasma instabilities could be operational at the EAR latitude sector, which together would foster a high occurrence of postmidnight irregularities during solar minimum. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

DOI： 10.1029/2011JA016798

Scopus

On postmidnight low-latitude ionospheric irregularities during solar minimum: 1. Equatorial Atmosphere Radar and GPS-TEC observations in Indonesia Reviewed

T. Yokoyama, M. Yamamoto, Y. Otsuka, M. Nishioka, T. Tsugawa, S. Watanabe, R. F. Pfaff

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Vol. 116 ( 11 ) 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Using the 47 MHz Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) in West Sumatra, Indonesia (10.36S dip latitude), it is shown that postmidnight irregularities during solar minimum are morphologically different from those detected during solar maximum and are quite similar to those observed with the middle and upper atmosphere (MU) radar in midlatitudes (29.3N dip latitude). Utilizing the rapid beam-steering capability of the EAR, the spatial structure of the postmidnight irregularities is clearly presented for the first time. It is found that they usually propagate westward and can be categorized into two types. One shows sharp upwelling plumes near local midnight, which should not be a mere passage of fossil plasma bubbles. The other has successive tilted structures which have the same orientation as medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances typically observed at midlatitudes. We suggest that the convergence of the equatorward thermospheric wind which is believed to be responsible for the midnight temperature maximum may be an important factor to produce a preferable condition for the upwelling plumes in the postmidnight sector. The displacement between geographic and magnetic equators may also be important for seasonal/longitudinal variation of the postmidnight irregularities. © 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

DOI： 10.1029/2011JA016797

Scopus

Vertical connection from the tropospheric activities to the ionospheric longitudinal structure simulated by a new Earth's whole atmosphere-ionosphere coupled model Reviewed

H. Jin, Y. Miyoshi, H. Fujiwara, H. Shinagawa, K. Terada, N. Terada, M. Ishii, Y. Otsuka, A. Saito

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Vol. 116 ( 1 ) 2011

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Blackwell Publishing Ltd

This paper introduces a new Earth's atmosphere-ionosphere coupled model that treats seamlessly the neutral atmospheric region from the troposphere to the thermosphere as well as the thermosphere-ionosphere interaction including the electrodynamics self-consistently. The model is especially useful for the study of vertical connection between the meteorological phenomena and the upper atmospheric behaviors. As an initial simulation using the coupled model, we have carried out a 30 day consecutive run in September. The result reveals that the longitudinal structure of the F-region ionosphere varies on a day-to-day basis in a highly complex way and that a four-peak structure of the daytime equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) similar to the recent observations appears as an averaged feature. The simulation reproduces and thus confirms the vertical coupling processes proposed so far with respect to the formation of the averaged EIA longitudinal structure
the excitation of solar nonmigrating tides in the troposphere, their propagation through the middle atmosphere, and the modulation of ionospheric dynamo, which in turn affects EIA generation. The simulation result indicates that not only the ionospheric averaged longitudinal structure but also the day-to-day variation can be modulated significantly by the lower atmospheric effect. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

DOI： 10.1029/2010JA015925

Scopus

Dynamic temporal evolution of polar cap tongue of ionization during magnetic storm Reviewed

K. Hosokawa, T. Tsugawa, K. Shiokawa, Y. Otsuka, N. Nishitani, T. Ogawa, M. R. Hairston

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 2010.12

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

During a magnetic storm on 14-16 December 2006, a polar cap tongue of ionization (TOI) was detected by an all-sky imager (ASI) at Resolute Bay, Canada (74.73 degrees N, 265.07 degrees E). We investigate the temporal evolution and spatial structure of the TOI in detail by combining the optical data with other observations (e. g., solar wind, GPS total electron content, SuperDARN, and DMSP and NOAA POES satellites). The TOI was observed as a bright and elongated 630 nm airglow plume for 4 h during the main phase of the storm. This interval corresponded to a period of prolonged stable large-amplitude southward IMF during a coronal mass ejection (CME). One to one and a half hours before the appearance of TOI, the polar cap boundary expanded rapidly far equatorward, and a positive ionospheric storm occurred. This implies that both the "expansion of the high-latitude plasma convection" and "build up of the source plasma in the midlatitudes" are necessary conditions for the formation of a TOI. Because both of them were triggered by a major southward turning of the IMF, the prolonged large-amplitude southward IMF orientation in the trailing part of the CME was primarily responsible for the generation of TOI. After its appearance, the TOI exhibited dynamic motion in the dawn to dusk direction. Simultaneous SuperDARN data suggest that a longitudinal progression of subauroral polarization stream controlled this dynamic motion. The optical TOI was found to be a continuous stream elongated in the noon-midnight direction although it contained some mesoscale patterns. Absence of large-scale temporal changes in the cusp plasma flow during the stable IMF period allowed the TOI to remain continuous without being broken into polar cap patches. The mesoscale structures within the TOI were probably produced by small-scale velocity fluctuations in the cusp plasma flow. The TOI as visualized with the all-sky airglow imager was found to be much more dynamic and much more complicated than we ever thought. The current study indicates that such a behavior of the TOI was presumably caused by a combination of temporal variations in the global-scale plasma circulation system, expansion and contraction of the polar cap area, and plasma density changes in the dayside low to midlatitudes.

DOI： 10.1029/2010JA015848

Web of Science

Midnight latitude-altitude distribution of 630 nm airglow in the Asian sector measured with FORMOSAT-2/ISUAL Reviewed

Toru Adachi, Masashi Yamaoka, Mamoru Yamamoto, Yuichi Otsuka, Huixin Liu, Chun-Chieh Hsiao, Alfred B. Chen, Rue-Ron Hsu

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 2010.9

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

The Imager for Sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightning (ISUAL) payload on board the FORMOSAT-2 satellite carried out the first limb imaging observation of 630 nm airglow for the purpose of studying physical processes in the F region ionosphere. For a total of 14 nights in 2006-2008, ISUAL scanned the midnight latitude-altitude distribution of 630 nm airglow in the Asian sector. On two nights of relatively active conditions (Sigma Kp = 26, 30+) we found several bright airglow regions, which were highly variable each night in terms of luminosity and location. In relatively quiet conditions (Sigma Kp = 4-20) near May/June we found two bright regions which were stably located in the midlatitude region of 40 degrees S-10 degrees S (50 degrees S-20 degrees S magnetic latitude (MLAT)) and in the equatorial region of 0 degrees-10 degrees N (10 degrees S-0 degrees MLAT). On one of the quiet nights, FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC and CHAMP simultaneously measured the plasma density in the same region where ISUAL observed airglow. The plasma density data generally show good agreement, suggesting that plasma enhancements were the primary source of these two bright airglow regions. From detailed comparison with past studies we explain that the airglow in the equatorial region was due to the midnight brightness wave produced in association with the midnight temperature maximum, while that in the midlatitude region was due to the typical plasma distribution usually formed in the midnight sector. The fact that the equatorial airglow was much brighter than the midlatitude airglow and was observed on most nights during the campaign period strongly suggests the importance of further studies on the MTM/MBW phenomenology, which is not well reproduced in the current general circulation model.

DOI： 10.1029/2009JA015147

Web of Science

Large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance observed by superDARN Hokkaido HF radar and GPS networks on 15 December 2006 Reviewed

Hayashi, H, Nishitani, N, Ogawa, T, Otsuka, Y, Tsugawa, T, Hosokawa, K, Saito, A

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 2010.6

Large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance observed by superDARN Hokkaido HF radar and GPS networks on 15 December 2006 Reviewed

H. Hayashi, N. Nishitani, T. Ogawa, Y. Otsuka, T. Tsugawa, K. Hosokawa, A. Saito

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 2010.6

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

On 15 December 2006, during the main phase of a relatively large storm, Doppler velocity data from the Super Dual Aural Radar Network (SuperDARN) Hokkaido radar, together with total electron content (TEC) data from the GPS Earth Observation Network (GEONET), recorded daytime large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (LSTIDs). We studied two disturbances propagating southward and one disturbance propagating northward between 0000 and 0600 UT on 15 December 2006. The former disturbances were LSTIDs typical of those reported in many previous studies, whereas the latter was confirmed as an LSTID propagating from the Southern into the Northern Hemisphere, reported in a few past studies. From comparisons of SuperDARN Hokkaido radar Doppler velocity and GEONET TEC, we found a positive correlation between downward ionospheric motion and increasing TEC. This relationship is consistent with results of model calculation. This is the first observation of LSTIDs ranging from high to low latitude combining simultaneous SuperDARN HF radar and GPS network observations.

DOI： 10.1029/2009JA014297

Web of Science

Nighttime-like quasi periodic echoes induced by a partial solar eclipse Reviewed

Smitha V. Thampi, Mamoru Yamamoto, Huixin Liu, Susumu Saito, Yuichi Otsuka, Amit Kumar Patra

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS Vol. 37 2010.5

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

The first observations of solar eclipse induced mid-latitude plasma irregularities using the middle and upper atmosphere radar (MU radar) at Shigaraki (34.85 degrees N, 136.1 degrees E, 25.0 degrees N geomagnetic) are presented. The observations were done during the partial solar eclipse on 22 July, 2009. The observations show that the sudden withdrawal of solar radiation could deplete the background E-region densities, thereby unmasking the long-lived metallic ions within the strong and patchy Sporadic E-layers. As a result of this, Quasi-Periodic (QP) echoes were generated, which were detected by the MU radar. These echoes resemble the normal post-sunset QP echoes observed over mid-latitudes as revealed by the multi-channel interfereometry imaging. This example shows that over mid-latitudes E-region plasma irregularities can be generated during a partial solar eclipse, revealing a hitherto unobserved aspect of mid-latitude ionospheric responses to eclipses. Citation: Thampi, S. V., M. Yamamoto, H. Liu, S. Saito, Y. Otsuka, and A. K. Patra (2010), Nighttime-like quasi periodic echoes induced by a partial solar eclipse, Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L09107, doi: 10.1029/2010GL042855.

DOI： 10.1029/2010GL042855

Web of Science

Longitudinal development of low-latitude ionospheric irregularities during the geomagnetic storms of July 2004 Reviewed

Guozhu Li, Baiqi Ning, Lianhuan Hu, Libo Liu, Xinan Yue, Weixing Wan, Biqiang Zhao, K. Igarashi, Minoru Kubota, Yuichi Otsuka, J. S. Xu, J. Y. Liu

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 ( 4 ) 2010.4

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

During the period 22-28 July 2004, three geomagnetic storms occurred due to a sequence of coronal mass ejections. In this paper we present and discuss the ionospheric observations from a set of in situ satellites and ground-based GPS total electron content and scintillation receivers, a VHF radar, and two chains of ionosondes (similar to 300 degrees E and similar to 120 degrees E, respectively) that provide the evolutionary characteristics of equatorial and low-latitude ionospheric irregularities versus longitude during these storm periods. It is found that the irregularities occurred over a wide longitudinal range, extending from around 300 degrees E to 120 degrees E on storm days 25 and 27 July 2004. On 25 July plasma bubbles (PBs) began premidnight in America and postmidnight in Southeast Asia. On 27 July the occurrence of irregularities followed the sunset terminator and was observed sequentially after sunset from American to Southeast Asian longitudes. Past studies have reported that storm-time low-latitude ionospheric irregularities are mostly confined to a narrower longitude range, <90 degrees, after sunset hours and are associated with the prompt penetration of eastward electric fields (PPEFs) into low latitudes. In June solstice months the occurrence of range-type spread F or PBs is very low in Southeast Asian and South American sectors. In contrast, the present results indicate that geomagnetic storms triggered the wide longitudinal development of PBs. In the American sector this was probably due to the effects of PPEFs on both storm days. However, in the Southeast Asian sector the PBs on the 2 days probably arose from disturbance dynamo electric field (DDEF), PPEF, and gravity wave seeding effects. This study further shows that under complex storm conditions, besides the long duration or multiple penetrations, the combined effects of PPEFs and DDEFs could result in a wide longitude extent of ionospheric irregularities at times.

DOI： 10.1029/2009JA014830

Web of Science

Scopus

A physical mechanism of positive ionospheric storms at low latitudes and midlatitudes Reviewed

Balan N, Shiokawa K, Otsuka Y, Kikuchi T, Lekshmi D. Vijaya, Kawamura S, Yamamoto M, Bailey G. J

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 2010.2

Reorganization of polar cap patches through shears in the background plasma convection Reviewed

K. Hosokawa, J. -P. St-Maurice, G. J. Sofko, K. Shiokawa, Y. Otsuka, T. Ogawa

JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SPACE PHYSICS Vol. 115 2010.1

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

On the night of December 20, 2006, 630 nm airglow images obtained by an all-sky camera at Resolute Bay, Canada (74.73 degrees N, 265.07 degrees E; altitude adjusted corrected geomagnetic (AACGM) latitude 82.9 degrees) showed the passage of successive polar cap patches. Shortly after convection came to a temporary halt, one of the patches was reorganized into two substructures in approximately 8 min. The two-dimensional background ionospheric convection pattern measured using the newly deployed PolarDARN radar at Rankin Inlet (62.82 degrees N, 93.11 degrees W; AACGM latitude 72.96 degrees) showed that a velocity shear of approximately 120 m s(-1)/340 km suddenly appeared in the vicinity of the patch at the time of reorganization. A qualitative analysis of the relationship between the magnitude of the velocity shear and the distance between the divided patches indicates that the shear in the background plasma convection velocity significantly contributed to the reorganization of the patch. This shear structure appeared soon after a southward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and was probably associated with the reconfiguration of the convection pattern from a pre-existing northward-oriented IMF pattern to a southward-oriented one. The present observations indicate that the reconfiguration/deformation of patches because of a shear in the background convection field, especially reorganization of patches into smaller substructures, may play an important role in the rapid structuring of patches.

DOI： 10.1029/2009JA014599

Web of Science

A physical mechanism of positive ionospheric storms at low latitudes and midlatitudes Reviewed

N. Balan, K. Shiokawa, Y. Otsuka, T. Kikuchi, D. Vijaya Lekshmi, S. Kawamura, M. Yamamoto, G. J. Bailey

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Vol. 115 ( 2 ) 2010

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Blackwell Publishing Ltd

[1] A physical mechanism of the positive ionospheric storms at low latitudes and midlatitudes is presented through multi-instrument observations, theoretical modeling, and basic principles. According to the mechanism, an equatorward neutral wind is required to produce positive ionospheric storms. The mechanical effects of the wind (1) reduce (or stop) the downward diffusion of plasma along the geomagnetic field lines, (2) raise the ionosphere to high altitudes of reduced chemical loss, and hence (3) accumulate the plasma at altitudes near and above the ionospheric peak centered at around ±30° magnetic latitudes. Daytime eastward prompt penetration electric field (PPEF), if it occurs, also shifts the equatorial ionization anomaly crests to higher than normal latitudes, up to approximately ±30° latitudes. The positive ionospheric storms are most likely in the longitudes where the onset of the geomagnetic storms falls in the ionization production dominated morning-noon local time sector when the plasma accumulation due to the mechanical effects of the wind largely exceeds the plasma loss due to the chemical effect of the wind. The mechanism agrees with the multi-instrument observations made during the supergeomagnetic storm of 7-8 November 2004, with 18 h long initial phase (IP) and 10 h long main phase (MP). The observations, which are mainly in the Japanese-Australian longitudes where the MP onset was in the morning (0600 LT, 2100 UT), show (1) strong positive ionospheric storms (in Ne, Nmax, hmax, Global Positioning System-total electron content (GPS-TEC), and 630 nm airglow intensity) in both Northern and Southern hemispheres started at the morning (0600 LT) MP onset and lasted for a day, (2) repeated occurrence of strong eastward PPEF events penetrated after the MP onset and superposed with westward electric field started before the MP onset, and (3) storm time equatorward neutral winds (inferred from 1 and 2). Repeated occurrence of an unusually strong F3 layer with large density depletions around the equator was also observed during the morning-noon MP. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

DOI： 10.1029/2009JA014515

Scopus

Dynamic temporal evolution of polar cap tongue of ionization during magnetic storm Reviewed

K. Hosokawa, T. Tsugawa, K. Shiokawa, Y. Otsuka, N. Nishitani, T. Ogawa, M. R. Hairston

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Vol. 115 ( 12 ) 2010

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Blackwell Publishing Ltd

During a magnetic storm on 14-16 December 2006, a polar cap tongue of ionization (TOI) was detected by an all-sky imager (ASI) at Resolute Bay, Canada (74.73°N, 265.07°E). We investigate the temporal evolution and spatial structure of the TOI in detail by combining the optical data with other observations (e.g., solar wind, GPS total electron content, SuperDARN, and DMSP and NOAA POES satellites). The TOI was observed as a bright and elongated 630 nm airglow plume for 4 h during the main phase of the storm. This interval corresponded to a period of prolonged stable large-amplitude southward IMF during a coronal mass ejection (CME). One to one and a half hours before the appearance of TOI, the polar cap boundary expanded rapidly far equatorward, and a positive ionospheric storm occurred. This implies that both the "expansion of the high-latitude plasma convection" and "build up of the source plasma in the midlatitudes" are necessary conditions for the formation of a TOI. Because both of them were triggered by a major southward turning of the IMF, the prolonged large-amplitude southward IMF orientation in the trailing part of the CME was primarily responsible for the generation of TOI. After its appearance, the TOI exhibited dynamic motion in the dawn to dusk direction. Simultaneous SuperDARN data suggest that a longitudinal progression of subauroral polarization stream controlled this dynamic motion. The optical TOI was found to be a continuous stream elongated in the noon-midnight direction although it contained some mesoscale patterns. Absence of large-scale temporal changes in the cusp plasma flow during the stable IMF period allowed the TOI to remain continuous without being broken into polar cap patches. The mesoscale structures within the TOI were probably produced by small-scale velocity fluctuations in the cusp plasma flow. The TOI as visualized with the all-sky airglow imager was found to be much more dynamic and much more complicated than we ever thought. The current study indicates that such a behavior of the TOI was presumably caused by a combination of temporal variations in the global-scale plasma circulation system, expansion and contraction of the polar cap area, and plasma density changes in the dayside low to midlatitudes. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

DOI： 10.1029/2010JA015848

Scopus

Large-scale traveling ionospheric disturbance observed by superDARN Hokkaido HF radar and GPS networks on 15 December 2006 Reviewed

H. Hayashi, N. Nishitani, T. Ogawa, Y. Otsuka, T. Tsugawa, K. Hosokawa, A. Saito

Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Vol. 115 ( 6 ) 2010

Language：English Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal) Publisher：Blackwell Publishing Ltd

DOI： 10.1029/2009JA014297

Scopus

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Papers - OTSUKA, Yuichi