Identification

Title

The winter anomaly in the middle-latitude region during the solar minimum period observed by the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate

Abstract

The winter anomaly (or seasonal anomaly) at middle latitudes is a phenomenon during which the daytime plasma density at the F-peak height (NmF(2)) is greater in winter than in summer. Radio occultation measurements from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) satellites provide a new data source for study of the winter anomaly on a global scale. In this study we investigate the altitude, local time, latitude, longitude, and hemispheric variations of the electron density in the middle-latitude ionosphere by analyzing the COSMIC data measured in 2007 during a magnetically quiet period (Kp <= 3). The seasonal mean behavior of the NmF(2) obtained from COSMIC data shows the occurrence of the winter anomaly feature during 0800-1600 LT in the Northern Hemisphere but not in the Southern Hemisphere. The intensity of the winter anomaly is variable with longitude, and a more intense winter anomaly is likely to occur at longitudes closer to the magnetic pole. At northern middle latitudes, a greater electron density in the winter than in the summer occurs in the narrow altitude range near the F-peak height. Except for the winter anomaly feature at northern middle latitudes, the electron density at middle latitudes is greater during the summer than during the winter in both hemispheres.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7js9s6n

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2011-02-01T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact