Stormtime Ionosphere-Thermosphere Dynamics

The Earth's Ionosphere-Thermosphere (I/T) system exhibits complicated temporal and spatial variations that are driven by external forces, internal dynamics, and thermosphere and ionosphere coupling. During geomagnetic storms, a large portion of energy in the form of Joule heating and particle precipitation is deposited in the high latitude thermosphere resulting in an expansion of the neutral gas and an associated dramatic change in the entire global wind system and associated changes in the ionosphere. On March 17, 2013, at about 5:00 UT, a coronal mass ejection (CME) that originated two days earlier on the Sun passed by NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) as it approached Earth. In this presentation we will show the dramatic effect that the storm exhibited on the Ionosphere-Thermosphere system at low-and mid-latitudes.