Abstract: It has been well recognized that severe space weather impacts arise from ionospheric density structures, which can potentially cause disruption, degradation, or blackout of satellite communications, radar, and high-frequency radio communications. Although much progress has been made in the study of ionospheric space weather in the last decade, many gaps remain in our understanding of some of the fundamental physical processes. In this seminar, I will talk about some recent research carried out in my group about the ionosphere and thermosphere responses during Space Weather disturbances. More specifically, I will cover (1) the formation and evolution of storm-enhanced density (SED) and SED plume in the ionosphere and their effects on ion upflow. SED and plume represent a most dramatic type of ionospheric plasma response during storms and the essential first step in the pathway of ionospheric plasma in participating in global circulation; (2) the ionosphere and thermosphere responses to solar wind dynamic pressure enhancement and the associated scintillation effects.
Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.