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Geospace Concussion: Global reversal of ionospheric vertical plasma drift in response to a sudden commencement
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  • Xueling Shi,
  • Dong Lin,
  • Wenbin Wang,
  • J. B. H. Baker,
  • James M. Weygand,
  • Michael D. Hartinger,
  • Viacheslav G. Merkin,
  • John Michael Ruohoniemi,
  • Kevin H Pham,
  • Haonan Wu,
  • Vassilis Angelopoulos,
  • Kathryn A McWilliams,
  • Nozomu Nishitani,
  • Simon George Shepherd
Xueling Shi
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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Dong Lin
National Center for Atmospheric Research

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Wenbin Wang
HAO/NCAR
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J. B. H. Baker
Virginia Tech
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James M. Weygand
Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences
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Michael D. Hartinger
Space Science Institute
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Viacheslav G. Merkin
The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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John Michael Ruohoniemi
Virginia Tech
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Kevin H Pham
National Center for Atmospheric Research
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Haonan Wu
Clemson University
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Vassilis Angelopoulos
University of California Los Angeles
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Kathryn A McWilliams
University of Saskatchewan
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Nozomu Nishitani
Nagoya University
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Simon George Shepherd
Dartmouth College
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Abstract

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 (<~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 ~6 s resolution SuperDARN ground scatter data. The dayside ionosphere suddenly moved downward during the magnetospheric compression due to the SC, lasting for only ~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 E X B vertical drift is caused by a global reversal of ionospheric zonal electric field induced by magnetospheric compression during the SC.