A Possible Explanation of Interhemispheric Asymmetry of Equatorial Plasma Bubbles in Airglow Images

Abstract

Equatorial plasma bubbles resulting from equatorial spread urn:x-wiley:jgra:media:jgra55597:jgra55597-math-0002 are well known to be aligned along the Earth's geomagnetic fields. During the geomagnetic storm on 17 March 2015, all‐sky airglow observations from Tirunelveli (8.7°N, 77.8°E, 1.7°N dip latitude) showed an apparent interhemispheric asymmetry in the tilt of the equatorial plasma bubbles. In this work we further investigate this case and provide a possible explanation for the asymmetry. We suggest that a variation in the altitude of the airglow layer across the image can cause the observed asymmetry. If the airglow layer is at a higher altitude in the northern portion of the image, then this would explain the observed asymmetry. This variation in the airglow layer can be caused by a variation in the height of the ionosphere. We show through modeling and ionosonde observations that it is likely that there is a variation in the airglow altitude within the field of view of the images on this night.