Ambipolar electric field-driven ionospheric upflow and event duration analysis during IPY-ESR 2007

David, T. W., Adetunji, E. O., Michael, C. M., Wright, D. M., Talabi, A. T. and Ajetunmobi, A. E. (2026) Ambipolar electric field-driven ionospheric upflow and event duration analysis during IPY-ESR 2007. Advances in Space Research. 78(7), pp. 7536-7545. 0273-1177.

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21192:66498

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21192:66498

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Abstract:

Ionospheric upflow, a precursor to magnetospheric plasma outflow, is primarily driven by several mechanisms of which ambipolar electric fields generated by electron precipitation are predominant. Using EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) data collected during the 2007 International Polar Year (IPY) campaign, we analyzed 683 ion upflow events (≥1013 m−2 s−1) to investigate the role of ambipolar fields in dayside and nightside sectors. Two representative events: a dayside cusp event (June 14, 2007) and a nightside substorm event (March 15, 2007) were analyzed in detail. Both showed strong correlations between elevated electron temperatures and enhanced ion upflows driven by ambipolar electric fields. Statistical analysis revealed that short-duration events (10–60 min) dominated the distribution (42.5%), with ambipolar fields responsible for 59.3% of the events, higher than the ∼40% reported in previous studies during more active periods. These results highlight the dominance of ambipolar electric fields in driving ion upflows during solar minimum and underscore the importance of electron precipitation in magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling processes.

Additional Information:

© 2026 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process: During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used Grok, to enhance the clarity, readability, and grammatical accuracy of the introduction and specific paragraphs. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Ionospheric upflow, Ambipolar electric field, olar minimum, Magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling, Event duration

Creators:

David, T. W., Adetunji, E. O., Michael, C. M., Wright, D. M., Talabi, A. T. and Ajetunmobi, A. E.

Date:

4 September 2026

Date Type:

Publication

Page Range:

pp. 7536-7545

Journal or Publication Title:

Advances in Space Research

Volume:

Number:

Number of Pages:

Language:

English

ISSN:

0273-1177

Status:

Published / Disseminated

Refereed:

Yes