State Oceanic Administration People's Republic of China Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, China.
Science. 2013 Mar 29;339(6127):1597-600. doi: 10.1126/science.1231487.
Patches of ionization are common in the polar ionosphere, where their motion and associated density gradients give variable disturbances to high-frequency (HF) radio communications, over-the-horizon radar location errors, and disruption and errors to satellite navigation and communication. Their formation and evolution are poorly understood, particularly under disturbed space weather conditions. We report direct observations of the full evolution of patches during a geomagnetic storm, including formation, polar cap entry, transpolar evolution, polar cap exit, and sunward return flow. Our observations show that modulation of nightside reconnection in the substorm cycle of the magnetosphere helps form the gaps between patches where steady convection would give a "tongue" of ionization (TOI).
电离层中的电离斑块很常见，它们的运动和相关的密度梯度会对高频（HF）无线电通信、超视距雷达定位误差以及卫星导航和通信的中断和误差产生可变干扰。它们的形成和演化还不是很清楚，特别是在空间天气条件受到干扰的情况下。我们报告了在磁暴期间对斑块的完整演化进行的直接观测，包括形成、极盖区进入、极盖区穿越、极盖区退出以及向日面返回流。我们的观测结果表明，磁层亚暴周期中夜间的磁重联调制有助于形成斑块之间的间隙，在那里稳定的对流会形成一个电离“舌”（TOI）。
