Geospace concussion: Global reversal of ionospheric vertical plasma drift in response to a sudden commencement

An interplanetary shock can abruptly compress the magnetosphere, excite magnetospheric waves and field-aligned currents, and cause a ground magnetic response known as a sudden commencement (SC). However, the transient (<similar to 1 min) response of the ionosphere-thermosphere system during an SC has been little studied due to limited temporal resolution in previous investigations. Here, we report observations of a global reversal of ionospheric vertical plasma motion during an SC on 24 October 2011 using similar to 6 s resolution Super Dual Auroral Radar Network ground scatter data. The dayside ionosphere suddenly moved downward during the magnetospheric compression due to the SC, lasting for only similar to 1 min before moving upward. By contrast, the post-midnight ionosphere briefly moved upward then moved downward during the SC. Simulations with a coupled geospace model suggest that the reversed x (B) over right arrow vertical drift is caused by a global reversal of ionospheric zonal electric field induced by magnetospheric compression during the SC.

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Related Links

Related Dataset #1 : Equivalent Ionospheric Currents (EICs) derived using the Spherical Elementary Currents Systems (SECS) technique at 10 sec Resolution in Geographic Coordinates

Related Dataset #2 : Spherical Elementary Current (SEC) Amplitudes derived using the Spherical Elementary Currents Systems (SECS) technique at 10 sec Resolution in Geographic Coordinates

Related Dataset #3 : Supporting data for Shi et al. "Geospace Concussion: Global reversal of ionospheric vertical plasma drift in response to a sudden commencement"
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Author Shi, X.
Lin, Dong
Wang, Wenbin
Baker, J. B. H.
Weygand, J. M.
Hartinger, M. D.
Merkin, V. G.
Ruohoniemi, J. M.
Pham, Kevin
Wu, H.
Angelopoulos, V.
McWilliams, K. A.
Nishitani, N.
Shepherd, S. G.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2022-10-16T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
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Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-11T15:58:42.631703
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:25778
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Shi, X., Lin, Dong, Wang, Wenbin, Baker, J. B. H., Weygand, J. M., Hartinger, M. D., Merkin, V. G., Ruohoniemi, J. M., Pham, Kevin, Wu, H., Angelopoulos, V., McWilliams, K. A., Nishitani, N., Shepherd, S. G.. (2022). Geospace concussion: Global reversal of ionospheric vertical plasma drift in response to a sudden commencement. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7x92g4z. Accessed 05 December 2025.

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