The dawn enhancement of the equatorial ionospheric vertical plasma drift

Abstract

Previous studies have reported that a dawn enhancement does not present in the statistical picture of the equatorial ionospheric vertical plasma drift, while it clearly shows in case measurements. In this statistical study, it is the first time to investigate the occurrence of the dawn enhancement in the equatorial ionospheric vertical plasma drift from ROCSAT-1 observations during geomagnetic quiet times. The dawn enhancements occur most frequently in June solstice and least frequently in December solstice. The statistical survey shows that the occurrence depends on the magnetic declination. The enhancement has the strongest amplitude in regions near 320° longitude and peaks during June solstice. The dawn enhancement reaches its peak after the sunrise in conjugated E regions. Furthermore, it is found that the dawn enhancement is closely related to the difference between the sunrise times in the conjugated E regions (sunrise time lag). The dawn enhancement occurs easily in regions with a large sunrise time lag.