Collaborative Research: CEDAR--Midnight Temperature Maximum and Its Impact on the Ionosphere-Thermosphere System

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In this project, phenomena in the thermosphere and ionosphere will be studied combining the analysis of observations and modeling. The midnight temperature maximum (MTM) in the thermosphere and related ionospheric phenomena have been observed by multiple instruments but have not been successfully simulated by a physics-based model. This study will improve our knowledge of dynamical and electrodynamical processes in the ionosphere at low latitudes. It will also serve to validate and improve the climatology of wind velocity, neutral temperature, electron density, and electric fields in the whole atmosphere model (WAM). This model will be transitioned into operation for upper atmosphere forecasting and space weather prediction in the near future. A summer student participating in the project will gain experience in data analysis of observations and basic physics of the upper atmosphere.The WAM is the first comprehensive model that is able to internally generate an MTM of a realistic magnitude. Through simulations using the fully coupled WAM and global ionosphere and plasmasphere model (GIP), this study aims to gain a better understanding of the climatology and morphology of MTM and to investigate its impact on the nighttime ionosphere-thermosphere system. Simulations will provide useful information on MTM in order to interpret the various observations. Multiple ground-based and satellite measurements will be analyzed to infer the longitudinal, latitudinal, seasonal, and solar-cycle variations of MTM and compared with simulation results. Furthermore, ion-neutral coupling between the thermosphere and ionosphere at nighttime will also be investigated.