Study of equinoctial asymmetry in the Equatorial Spread F (ESF) irregularities over Indian region using multi‐instrument observations in the descending phase of solar cycle 23

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of a morphological study of Equatorial Spread F (ESF) irregularities over Indian region based mainly on observations of (1) amplitude scintillations on GPS L‐band signal and Rate of TEC Index (ROTI) obtained using a network of GPS receivers and (2) amplitude scintillations on a VHF signal using spaced receivers at Tirunelveli, an equatorial station. Occurrence of both amplitude scintillations on the GPS L1 signal and occurrence of significant ROTI recorded at several stations has been investigated. The latitudinal extent of L‐band scintillations shows that their strength is weak over the dip equator but stronger over Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) region, preferentially during vernal equinox. We find an equinoctial asymmetry in both the occurrence of scintillations and ROTI wherein their occurrence is greater in the vernal equinox than in the autumn equinox. Attempts have been made to understand the asymmetry in latitudinal extent using maximum cross‐correlation (CI) of intensity fluctuations obtained from the VHF spaced receivers observations. The observations suggest that occurrence of CI less than 0.5 is more in the vernal equinox than in the autumn equinox suggesting that the maximum height of the Equatorial Plasma Bubbles (EPBs) during vernal equinox may be higher than that during autumn equinox. TIMED/GUVI retrieved peak electron density during the same period also indicates that background electron density is higher and more symmetric during vernal equinox than autumn equinox. Hence, our results suggest that background electron density may be playing a vital role in creating the equinoctial asymmetry.