Formation of polar ionospheric tongue of ionization during minor geomagnetic disturbed conditions

The PFISR electron density profiles indicate that the extra ionization for TEC enhancements mainly occurred in the topside ionosphere with no obvious changes in the bottomside ionosphere and vertical plasma drifts. Additionally, there were no signatures of penetration electric fields in the equatorial electrojet data and upward ion drifts at high latitudes. At the same time, strong subauroral polarization streams with ion drift speeds exceeding 2.5 km/s carried sunward fluxes and migrated toward lower latitudes for about 5° based on the DMSP cross-track drift measurements.

Based on those measurements, we postulate that the combined effects of initial build-up of ionization at midlatitudes through daytime production of ionization and equatorward (or less poleward than normal daytime) neutral wind reducing downward diffusion along the inclined filed lines, and an expanded polar ion convection pattern and its associated horizontal plasma transport are important in the formation of the TOI.