SAMI3/WACCM-X Simulations of the Ionosphere during 2009

To study the day-to-day effects of the lower atmosphere on the ionosphere, we have performed simulations of SAMI3, NRL's physics-based model of the ionosphere, with a one-way coupling to the extended version of the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM-X). WACCM-X has a top boundary located in the upper thermosphere (2.5× 10-9 hPa, or ~500 km altitude); therefore we are able to drive SAMI3 using the full profile of the WACCM-X winds. To simulate specific events, WACCM-X can be constrained by data analysis products or observations. In this study, lower atmospheric weather patterns are introduced into WACCM-X using a linear combination of NASA's MERRA and the U.S. Navy's NOGAPS data assimilation products. The SAMI3/WACCM-X simulations are performed for January, February, April, July and October 2009. The January – February period is particularly interesting due to the large stratospheric warming event that occurred on 24 January 2009. We quantify the seasonal and day-to-day ionospheric variability in the thermospheric winds, E × B drifts, NmF2, hmF2 and TEC during this period, and identify the tides primarily responsible for the variations.