Extensive experimental and theoretical research has been performed in the last decade to study ionospheric irregularities. These studies have shown that plasma instabilities play a major role in the generation of the irregularities. In this work we describe in detail the recent experimental studies of the E and F region irregularities and also the extensive work on plasma instability theories developed to explain them. We also describe both radio wave and spacecraft‐borne experimental techniques to allow a common ground for the understanding of the data from ground‐based and in situ experiments. To date, theoretical work has been mostly concentrated on the low‐latitude irregularities and, together with computer simulations, has been able to explain many aspects of the experimental data. These theoretical efforts are also discussed in some detail. The role of neutral winds in the creation of large‐scale ionospheric structures such as mid‐latitude sporadic E is beyond the scope of this review.

Anomalous reversals of the zonal equatorial electric field component have sometimes been observed when the interplanetary magnetic field turns northward from a steady southerly direction. We suggest that this reversal is associated with a sudden change in the convection electric field in the magnetosphere and present measurements to support this explanation. Although slower variations in the convection field are shielded from the low latitude ionosphere by polarization charges at the inner edge of the ring current, these charges may require an hour or more to vary. A sudden decrease in the cross‐tail electric field will thus be accompanied by a dusk‐dawn perturbation electric field across the inner magnetosphere.

fields, static randomness, etc. Thus, it is expected to become an important theoretical tool for studying many-body systems, especially narrow-band materials 8 (e.g.,NiS) and impurity bands in crystalline semiconductors. 9

[1] It is well known that the interplanetary electric field can penetrate to the low-latitude ionosphere. It is generally believed that the penetration of electric fields can last only for $30 min because of the shielding effect in the ring current. In this paper we present the observations of the dayside ionospheric electric field enhancements at middle and low latitudes in association with reorientations of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). In six cases, the eastward electric field in the dayside equatorial ionosphere, measured by the Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar, was enhanced for 2-3 hours after the IMF turned southward and remained continuously southward. In one case the eastward electric field in the dayside midlatitude ionosphere, measured by the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar, was continuously enhanced for $10 hours during southward IMF. Since Millstone Hill is close to the equatorward boundary of the auroral zone during magnetic storms, the penetration electric field there may be different from that at the equatorial ionosphere. The most striking feature of the measurements is that the enhancements of the ionospheric electric field can last for many hours without significant decay. The electric field enhancements in the middle-and low-latitude ionosphere are closely related to magnetic activity and occur during the main phase of magnetic storms. The observations show that the interplanetary electric field can continuously penetrate to the low-latitude ionosphere without shielding for many hours as long as the strengthening of the magnetic activity is going on under storm conditions. Citation: Huang, C.-S., J. C. Foster, and M. C. Kelley (2005), Long-duration penetration of the interplanetary electric field to the low-latitude ionosphere during the main phase of magnetic storms,

Abstract. This paper presents a summary of 630.0 nm emission observations made by the Cornell All-Sky Imager that have revealed an abundance of structure in the midlatitude thermosphere. Some events were so bright that the weaker 557.7 nm thermospheric line was readily visible and produced sharper images because of the shorter excitation lifetime. Global Positioning System observations show that the airglow features are traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs). The remarkable feature of the data is the overwhelming tendency for these low-velocity TIDs to develop with a northwest to southeast orientation and to propagate in the southwest direction. Speeds ranged from 50 to 170 m/s, and wavelengths ranged from 50 to 500 km. The Perkins instability is investigated as a possible explanation for the structures. The linear theory, including both winds and electric fields, predicts a positive but small growth rate. However, the real part of the dispersion relation gives the wrong sign for the wave propagation. Furthermore, the growth rate seems too small to amplify a seed gravity wave significantly during one period of neutral gas oscillation. We conclude that this class of low-velocity TID is not yet explained theoretically.