Interhemispheric transport of metallic ions within ionospheric sporadic <i>E</i> layers by the lower thermospheric meridional circulation

Yu, Bingkun; Xue, Xianghui; Scott, Christopher J.; Wu, Jianfei; Yue, Xinan; Feng, Wuhu; Chi, Yutian; Marsh, Daniel R.; Liu, Hanli; Dou, Xiankang; Plane, John M. C.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4219-2021

Articles | Volume 21, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4219-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-4219-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 21, issue 5

ACP Letters

| Highlight paper

|

18 Mar 2021

ACP Letters | Highlight paper |

| 18 Mar 2021

Interhemispheric transport of metallic ions within ionospheric sporadic E layers by the lower thermospheric meridional circulation

Bingkun Yu, Xianghui Xue, Christopher J. Scott, Jianfei Wu, Xinan Yue, Wuhu Feng, Yutian Chi, Daniel R. Marsh, Hanli Liu, Xiankang Dou, and John M. C. Plane

Data sets

COSMIC RO data CDAAC https://data.cosmic.ucar.edu/gnss-ro/

Ionosonde data UK Solar System Data Centre (UKSSDC) https://www.ukssdc.ac.uk/wdcc1/iono_menu.html

Simulation data of 'Interhemispheric transport of metallic ions within ionospheric sporadic E layers by the lower thermospheric meridional circulation' B. Yu, X. Xue, C. J. Scott, J. Wu, X. Yue, W. Feng, Y. Chi, D. R. Marsh, H. Liu, X. Dou, and J. M. C. Plane https://doi.org/10.12176/01.99.00256

Model code and software

WACCM model UCAR https://www.cesm.ucar.edu/models/cesm2/

Short summary

A long-standing mystery of metal ions within E_s layers in the Earth's upper atmosphere is the marked seasonal dependence, with a summer maximum and a winter minimum. We report a large-scale winter-to-summer transport of metal ions from 6-year multi-satellite observations and worldwide ground-based stations. A global atmospheric circulation is responsible for the phenomenon. Our results emphasise the effect of this atmospheric circulation on the transport of composition in the upper atmosphere.