Generation of electric fields due to the gravity wave winds and their transmission to other ionospheric regions

Abstract

The generation of small scale electric fields in the ionospheric E- and F-regions has been investigated using three dimensional gravity wave winds for a variety of ionospheric conditions. It is found that for a given gravity wave, the component of the wave vector k_θ along the geomagnetic field plays the most dominant role in the generation of the electric fields. The fields are generated mainly in the region where k_θ ~ 0 and this region can be referred to as the source region. The rest of the ionospheric region connected to this region via the geomagnetic field lines can be referred to as the load region. Further, if the integrated Pedersen conductivity in the source region is larger than in the load region, the electric fields are generated efficiently. The attenuation of the field during transmission is dependent on the ratio of the Pedersen conductivity to the parallel conductivity and the wavelength of the gravity wave in question.