Anomalous electron heating effects on the E region ionosphere in TIEGCM

This implementation provides, for the first time, a modeling capability to describe macroscopic effects of the FBI on the ionosphere and thermosphere in the context of a first-principle, self-consistent model.

The added heating sources primarily operate between 100 and 130 km altitude, and their magnitudes often exceed auroral precipitation heating in the TIEGCM. The induced changes in E region electron temperature in the auroral oval and polar cap by the FBI are remarkable with a maximum Te approaching 2200 K. This is about 4 times larger than the TIEGCM run without FBI heating. This investigation demonstrates how researchers can add the important effects of the FBI to magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere models and simulators.