High- and middle-latitude neutral mesospheric density response to geomagnetic storms

Abstract

We report the first observations of a high‐ and middle‐latitude neutral mesospheric density response to geomagnetic storms. Interhemisphere mesospheric densities are estimated using data from meteor radars at Davis Station (68.6°S, 77.9°E), Svalbard (78.3°N, 16°E) and Tromsø (69.6°N, 19.2°E), which are located under the auroral zone; the Mohe (53.5°N, 122.3°E), and Beijing (40.3°N, 116.2°E) meteor radars, located in northern midlatitudes, and the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aura satellite. Both case studies and a superposed epoch analysis indicate that geomagnetic storms can significantly influence mesospheric density, causing a greater than ~10% decrease in the auroral zones and a ~5% decrease at higher midlatitudes. With such large changes, it is reasonable to suspect that geomagnetic storms influence the dynamics of the high and middle latitudes mesosphere.