Fast Ionogram Observations of Ascending Thin Layers Locally Transported from the E to F Region at Equatorial and Low Latitudes

Abstract

By using fast ionogram observations, we report the first simultaneous observations of ascending ion layers at equatorial and low latitudes. The ionosonde measurements at Sanya (18.3°N, 109.6°E; dip lat. 12.2°N) and Chumphon (10.7°N, 99.4°E; dip lat. 3.8°N) show that a high Es layer, which might contain metallic ions, was directly lifted upward from the local E region to F region bottomside at morning hours, in a pattern similar to the vertical drift of the F region background ionosphere driven by the daytime eastward electric field. A statistical analysis with Sanya ionosonde measurements shows that the low latitude ascending ion layer is not a rare phenomenon, with a maximum occurrence of 22% during equinox. The results indicate that at the latitudes far away from the magnetic equator, the local E region metallic ions could be directly brought into the F region with the ascending layer. It can be expected that fast ionogram measurements, which can easily capture the rapid evolution of the background ionosphere, will play an important role in studying the formation of some unexpected high altitude metallic layers.