Numerical modelling of the IMF influence on the large-scale structure of the ionosphere, including the poles displacement

Abstract

The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), frozen into the solar wind plasma, determines the level of geomagnetic activity and significantly affects the large-scale structure of the high-latitude ionosphere. Variations in the IMF components lead to non-stationarity of the magnetospheric convection electric field, causing changes in the spatio-temporal distribution of charged particles in the ionosphere. The situation is complicated by the fact that the geographic and geomagnetic poles do not coincide, which leads to universal time control (UT control) of the parameters of the high-latitude ionosphere. The effect of the poles displacement is most manifest in winter. Therefore, in this work, within the framework of a nonstationary mathematical model of the F-region of the ionosphere in Euler variables, taking into account the displacement between the geographic and geomagnetic poles, we study the influence of the interplanetary magnetic field components on the large-scale structure of the high-latitude ionosphere in winter. For this, the Weimer model of high-latitude electric potentials, which depends on the IMF, was used. As a result, of numerical modelling, it is shown that the IMF components affect the shape, size and spatio-temporal location of the main structural features of the high-latitude ionosphere depending on universal time. The obtained effect of ionisation tongue separation requires experimental confirmation. The obtained results demonstrate that the developed non-stationary three-dimensional model of the ionosphere in Euler variables can be applied to the study of ionospheric disturbances, including ionospheric disturbances associated with changes in the IMF components.