Long-lasting negative ionospheric storm effects in low and middle latitudes during the recovery phase of the 17 March 2013 geomagnetic storm

In this paper, an ionospheric electron density reanalysis algorithm was used to generate global optimized electron density during the 17–18 March 2013 geomagnetic storm by assimilating ~10 low Earth orbit satellites based and ~450 ground global navigation satellite system receiver-based total electron content into a background ionospheric model. The reanalyzed electron density could identify the large-scale ionospheric features quite well during storm time, including the storm-enhanced density, the positive ionospheric storm effect during the initial and main phases, and the negative ionospheric storm effect during the recovery phase. The simulations from the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model can reproduce similar large-scale ionospheric disturbances as seen in the reanalysis results. Both the reanalysis and simulations show long-lasting (>17 h) daytime negative storm effect over the Asia sector as well as hemispheric asymmetry during the recovery phase. Detailed analysis of the Global Ultraviolet Imager-derived O/N₂ ratio and model simulations indicate that the polar ward meridional wind disturbance, the downward E × B drift disturbance and O/N₂ depletion might be responsible for the negative storm effect. The hemispheric asymmetry is mainly caused by the geomagnetic field line configuration, which could cause hemispheric asymmetry in the O/N₂ depletion.